🚀 go-pugleaf

>you might try the FAA and the National Weather Service.  They usually are
>happy to provide this kind of information to these projects.
>
>Brandon Kovach,
>Drury College
>
>
>On Fri, 9 Dec 1994, Anderson, Matthew wrote:
>
>>     A student is looking for information on global lightning, aka
>> ball lightning.  If anyone has any information or knows of an
>> authoritative resource on the subject, please forward to:
>>
>>                         <1027@NEBO.EDU>
>>
>>                 Sincere thanks,
>>                         Oliver Anderson
>>


Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington, DC             December 7, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1727)

Steve Roy
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
(Phone:  205/544-6535)

RELEASE:  94-204

GAMMA RAY FLASHES IN ATMOSPHERE MORE COMMON THAN THOUGHT


     Scientists at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, AL, are observing rare gamma ray flashes above
thunderstorms at a rate six times that of previous
observations.

     The observations are being made by the Burst and
Transient Source Experiment aboard NASA's Compton Gamma Ray
Observatory which was recently modified by ground commands
to be more sensitive to the events.

     "The high rate of occurrence of these gamma ray
events suggests the presence of a little understood, but
significant phenomena that will have impact in many
scientific fields," explained Dr. Steve Goodman of
Marshall's Space Sciences Laboratory. "We're especially
looking forward to the opportunity to bring together
investigators from the fields of space and atmospheric
physics to study these newly discovered events."

     Scientists previously observed gamma ray flashes
above thunderstorm activity about once every six weeks.
Now, they are observing such gamma ray events weekly.  The
first indications of gamma ray flashes above thunderstorms
were detected by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment
earlier this year.

     It is suspected the gamma ray flashes come from a
rare type of powerful electrical discharge, similar to
lightning, above large thunderstorm regions.  The observed
flashes are very brief, lasting only a few thousandths of a
second.  In the past two months most of the observed gamma
ray flashes have occurred near the equator, primarily over
regions of South America and the East Indies known to have
high thunderstorm activity.

     These recent observations have been confirmed by
other instruments on the Compton Observatory.  The gamma
ray observations from the Earth's atmosphere and their
association with thunderstorms is a complete surprise to
scientific investigators.  It is suspected the gamma ray
events may be related to faint, but visible electrical
discharges observed and reported recently high in the
stratosphere above thunderstorms.

     The new observations were presented at a meeting of
the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco today by
Dr. Steve Goodman.  The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory is
managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
MD, and the Burst and Transient Source Experiment is
managed by Marshall.


                         -end-

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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
        Chuck Hunt - Science Resource Teacher - Gifted and Talented
        Clarke Middle School, 1235 Baxter St., Athens, GA 30605
        e-mail: capthunt@moe.coe.uga.edu