02/06/2026
๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฌ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐, ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ ๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ. ๐ฉ๏ธ๐ฒ
When storm clouds build up a heavy negative charge, the ground beneath turns positive.
In forests, that charge climbs up through the trunks and branches, all the way to the tips of the leaves.
There, it concentrates into a powerful electric field that ionizes the surrounding air, creating a faint glowing plasma. A "corona."
It's far too dim to see with the naked eye, ambient light drowns it out.
So two researchers at Penn State built an instrument from scratch: a telescope, a periscope, and a high-speed UV camera.
They bolted it onto a 2013 Toyota Sienna, and spent the summer of 2024 chasing storms from Florida to Pennsylvania.
In North Carolina, they got lucky: a rare 90-minute storm.
On the UV footage, tiny twinkling dots lit up exactly at the tips of branches on a sweetgum and a pine.
And the glow seemed to "hop" between leaves as the electric fields shifted.
Why it matters:
โ These coronae may help explain how thunderstorms produce lightning: still one of the biggest open questions in atmospheric science.
โ They likely generate hydroxyl radicals, the "detergent of the atmosphere," which could affect local air quality around forests.
The most beautiful part? The team thinks their camera only caught the strongest glows. The real light show is probably far more widespread than we've ever seen.
๐๐ผ How crazy is it that there are so many natural wonders still hiding in plain sight
What other cool phenomenae exist you think?
I first thought this was random AI BS, but it is actually true, check link to study:
https://www.science.org/content/article/first-researchers-film-treetops-glowing-during-thunderstorms
