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image credit & copyright: Martin Rietze (Alien Landscapes on Planet Earth)



why does a volcanic eruption sometimes create lightning ?

pictured above, the Sakurajima volcano in southern Japan was caught erupting in 2013 january

magma bubbles so hot they glowed shot away as liquid rock burst through the Earth's surface from below

the featured image is particularly notable, however, for the lightning bolts caught near the volcano's summit

why lightning occurs even in common thunderstorms remains a topic of research, and the cause of volcanic lightning is even less clear

surely, lightning bolts help quench areas of opposite but separated electric charges

volcanic lightning episodes may be facilitated by charge-inducing collisions in volcanic dust

lightning is usually occurring somewhere on Earth, typically over 40 times each second !












































in apod.nasa.gov/apod