The lightning can be visible for miles because they produce intense light in a few milliseconds, illuminating the sky in a spectacular way. This light spreads quickly in the atmosphere and can be observed over long distances.
A lightning bolt releases an enormous amount of light energy, due to the extreme temperatures reached during the electrical discharge, sometimes reaching up to 30,000 degrees Celsius. By comparison, this is about five times hotter than the surface of the Sun. This intense heat produces a dazzling light, visible for tens of kilometers around. The lightning also generates a brief but very powerful emission of white or bluish light, further enhancing its visibility at great distances. It's no wonder we can see them with the naked eye even from far away, since a single lightning strike can illuminate an entire area for a few fractions of a second!
Light travels in a straight line, like a laser, as long as it encounters no obstacles. It is this rectilinear path that allows lightning to be visible even from several kilometers away. When the lightning strikes, its flash of light shoots out in all directions without taking any turns. As long as nothing blocks its way, like a hill or a building, you can easily see that light from afar. The fact that light moves quickly (about 300,000 kilometers per second) and in a straight line explains why we see lightning almost instantly, even from a great distance.
Weather conditions greatly influence the distance from which a lightning strike can be seen. When the air is clear and visibility is good, light travels without much trouble and remains visible from far away. On the other hand, an atmosphere filled with humidity, fog, or heavy rain absorbs and scatters light, reducing its visual range. A clear sky or simply slightly overcast allows lightning to be seen from very far away since nothing seriously blocks its brightness. In these cases, light pierces through the clouds or even reflects a bit off their lower surface, sometimes increasing the perception of brightness. Conversely, under heavy rain or dense fog, visibility drops dramatically: nearby lightning is barely discernible.
At night, inevitably, the surrounding darkness increases the contrast between the intense brightness of a lightning bolt and the rest of the dark sky. When we are immersed in complete darkness, our eyes automatically become more sensitive to light, which allows us to easily perceive lightning even from great distances. The darker the surroundings, the more striking the difference in brightness; a lightning bolt, even distant, then appears extremely visible. On a moonless night, without any surrounding artificial lights, a single lightning bolt can be seen from over a hundred kilometers away thanks to this striking contrast.
There are 'superbolts' or 'megabolts' whose length can exceed several hundred kilometers. In 2020, a record lightning bolt measuring nearly 770 kilometers was observed in South America by satellite.
Lightning does not always move downwards: some lightning, known as upward lightning, travels from the ground upwards, particularly from skyscrapers, antennas, or mountain peaks.
Did you know that approximately 100 lightning strikes hit the Earth every second around the world? This frequent phenomenon is both impressive and vital for the electrical balance of our planet.
The distance at which you can see a lightning flash largely depends on the clarity of the air. In clear night conditions, lightning can be seen from over 150 kilometers away.
Yes. This is referred to as a dry thunderstorm. This phenomenon occurs when the humidity present in the layers above a certain altitude generates lightning visible from the ground, but the rain evaporates before reaching the Earth's surface.
According to atmospheric conditions and the terrain's relief, lightning can sometimes be visible from up to about 150 kilometers away. However, a visibility range of about 20 to 50 kilometers is much more common.
Using the sound delay: you count the seconds that pass between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder, then divide by three to approximately obtain the distance in kilometers.
No, briefly observing a flash of lightning poses no risk to your eyes. However, if the brightness is very intense, you may experience temporary glare.
Because light travels much faster than sound. When lightning occurs, its light reaches us almost instantaneously, while the sound takes several seconds to cover the same distance.
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