There's a mystery in the skies of Earth

Something is producing bright flashes of gamma radiation in the upper atmosphere of our own planet

January 29, 2010: High-energy bursts of gamma rays typically occur far out in space, perhaps near black holes or other high-energy cosmic phenomena. So imagine scientists' surprise in the mid-1990s when they found these powerful gamma ray flashes happening right here on Earth, in the skies overhead.

They're called Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes, or TGFs, and very little is known about them. They seem to have a connection with lightning, but TGFs themselves are something entirely different.


"In fact," says Doug Rowland of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, "before the 1990s nobody knew they even existed. And yet they're the most potent natural particle accelerators on Earth."

Individual particles in a TGF acquire a huge amount of energy, sometimes in excess of 20 mega-electron volts (MeV). In contrast, the colorful auroras that light up the skies at high latitudes are powered by particles with less than one thousandth as much energy.


At this stage, there are more questions about TGFs than answers. What causes these high-energy flashes? Do they help trigger lightning--or does lightning trigger them? Could they be responsible for some of the high-energy particles in the Van Allen radiation belts, which can damage satellites?

To investigate, Rowland and his colleagues at GSFC, Siena College, Universities Space Research Association, and the Hawk Institute for Space Sciences are planning to launch a tiny, football-sized satellite called Firefly in 2010 or 2011. Because of its small size, Firefly will cost less than $1 million — about 100 times cheaper than what satellite missions normally cost. Part of the cost savings comes from launching Firefly under the National Science Foundation's CubeSat program, which launches small satellites as "stowaways" aboard rockets carrying larger satellites into space, rather than requiring dedicated rocket launches.

source:science.nasa.gov...

[edit on 29-1-2010 by Noobastronomer]

I have to wonder if with increased storm activity ( nobody can tell me it is not increasing and intensifying, not after some of the intense lightning we have had!) what will be the effect, if there is any at all, on earth?
Very interesting article, thanks.

That picture reminds me of a sprite. Would make sense if they are related in some way. Very interesting article thanks for posting.

Could they just be covering for the spy satellites used to spy on people?

Originally posted by antar
Could they just be covering for the spy satellites used to spy on people?

Why would they use high energy bursts as a cover for satellites? I don't quite understand what you mean lol

reply to post by Cannabis907


I have to agree with you. fits the description pretty well.

S&F !! Awesome Thread!

Thanks for sharing the pictures @QBSneak000

reply to post by Noobastronomer


Interesting side note to this mission, the lead engineer is a big fan of the series FireFly...what do you ask is the working name of his pet project for monitoring Earthbased Gamma bursts...wait for it.... FIREFLY! I like to wave my geek flag. good article!

reply to post by QBSneak000


Thanks for posting some pics I didn't have the time earlier


Last time I heard anything about Sprites was on a History channel documentary. And at that time, they sure didn't know much about them.

[edit on 30-1-2010 by Cannabis907]

Hm what I would like to know, is if these TGF's occur during thunderstorms? If so then there would be a clear relation between them and Sprites. But otherwise Sprites don't really occur unless over a thunderstorm, as they are produced from lightning.

Originally posted by Cannabis907

Originally posted by antar
Could they just be covering for the spy satellites used to spy on people?

Why would they use high energy bursts as a cover for satellites? I don't quite understand what you mean lol

Maybe they aren't really gamma bursts. I mean, if they are spy satellites taking photographs of us from orbit then they're going to need one hell of a flash!

Awesome thread, good topic

I assume, from the diagrams and artists impressions of these things that the gamma radiation is directed up and away from the surface and out into space? The link doesn't really specify. If that's the case I think that fact is important to figuring out how TGF's are formed.

Another thought is whether they occur in other planets with atmospheres and if that could have an effect here if it was 'aimed' at us?

To me it looks like planet earth is releasing excess energy into space in order not to overflow with it . (I know I know its kind of hard to understand from my description but I don't really know how to explain this and it is only a feeling )

reply to post by Noobastronomer


This is from Wikipedia. It seems they do have some sxplanation as to why these occur

There is a consensus forming about the physical mechanism causing TGFs. It is presumed that TGFs occur when electrons, traveling at speeds very close to the speed of light, collide with the nuclei of atoms in the air, and release their energy in the form of gamma-rays ("bremsstrahlung"). Sometimes they also eject other electrons from the atoms at relativistic energies; thus an avalanche of these fast electrons can form, a phenomenon called "relativistic runaway breakdown" (Gurevich et al. 1992). The acceleration of the electrons is probably provided by a strong electric field, but from that point on there is considerable uncertainty.

Some of standard theoretical frameworks have been borrowed from other lightning-associated discharges like sprites, blue jets, and elves, which were discovered in the years immediately preceding the first TGF observations. For instance, that field may be due to the separation of charges in a thundercloud ("DC" field) often associated with sprites, or due to the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) produced by a lightning discharge, often associated with elves. There is also some evidence that certain TGFs occur in the absence of lightning strikes, though in the vicinity of general lightning activity, which has evoked comparisons to blue jets. Most TGFs, however, have been shown to occur within a few ms of a lightning event (Inan et al. 1996) (Cummer et al. 2005) (Inan et al. 2006) (Cohen et al. 2006).

Source: en.wikipedia.org...

These are most likely runaway electrons that produce red sprites and terrestrial gamma ray flashes.

It is presumed that TGFs occur when electrons, traveling at speeds very close to the speed of light, collide with the nuclei of atoms in the air, and release their energy in the form of gamma-rays ("bremsstrahlung").

Sometimes they also eject other electrons from the atoms at relativistic energies; thus an avalanche of these fast electrons can form, a phenomenon called "relativistic runaway breakdown".

The initial seed is provided by the cosmic rays. The electrons are turned around by the thundercloud electric field. The new electrons are produced by ionization of atmospheric molecules. Most newly produced electrons thermalize because of collisions, but some accelerate and contribute to the avalanche.

This can be seen in the diagram below:


Stanford Univ

The complete details of what this phenomenon is all about can be read here...

www-star.stanford.edu...

Last night, looking out toward the moon in Miami, one could have seen a rainbow around the moon.

A neighbor exclaimed, "Incredible" and went inside.
.....while I stood in awe of the credible.

E-nfinity.

reply to post by Perseus Apex


While this is off topic for the thread, it's interesting all the same. I love a good Moon halo, they are caused by ice crystals in the upper atmosphere refracting light.

here ya go:

en.wikipedia.org...

I don't think halos are linked with TGF's if that was what you were suggesting?

reply to post by Noobastronomer


Very interesting article. TY for posting S&F

Since there is so little know about TGF's, I was wondering if it could be possible that the Gamma 'waves' are influenced by absorption or extration of photon particles?

There is this Theory about Earth colliding with a Photon Belt that comes from the direction from the centre of our Milkyway.

Could it be that the lightning effects are a result of moving light particles (photons) in and out the gamma waves?

I'm by no means a science nerd so I hope someone will be able to explain it in layman terms to me.

I do know that photons are like very 'little (mini) packetges of waves' and that it is presumed that gamma-rays can be a result of the coillision of electrons and atoms (their nuclei).

Photons are lightparticles and get visible in electric magnetic radiation ....

So, is there anybody out here who has an answer me?

Peace!



[edit on 1/30/2010 by Melyanna Tengwesta]

It would be kind of ironic to think that a battle in skies above us could be taking place, while we are down below discussing if ET exists.

reply to post by Noobastronomer


This sounds like it could be a by-product of HARRP

www.haarp.alaska.edu...

Jesse Ventura has a great examination of HARRP

www.youtube.com...