Jovian lightning outshines terrestrial lightning

The longest storm to have ever existed on Earth lasted 36 days, but on Jupiter, storms can last centuries. Now, NASA’s Juno orbiter has revealed that lightning bolts on Jupiter are far more ferocious than those on Earth. New data from Juno’s microwave radiometer instrument shows that Jovian flashes typically pack more than 100 times the power of terrestrial lightning, with some bolts potentially reaching 10,000 times the total energy.

The study, published in AGU Advances, focused on ‘stealth superstorms’ in Jupiter's North Equatorial Belt. Despite their modest appearance, these storms reach staggering heights of 100 kilometres. The intensity of these bolts stems from Jupiter’s unique atmospheric chemistry; unlike Earth’s nitrogen-rich air, Jupiter’s hydrogen-dominated atmosphere makes moist air heavier, requiring a massive buildup of heat to trigger convection. When the air finally rises, it unleashes a torrent of energy, creating intense lightning through collisions of water-ammonia ice crystals, known as ‘mushballs’.

By using the Hubble Space Telescope and amateur imagery to pinpoint these storms, lead author Michael Wong and his team measured microwave pulses unaffected by cloud cover. These findings provide a vital laboratory for understanding atmospheric dynamics, proving that the King of Planets still holds shocking secrets.

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agupubs.onlinelibrary. wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025AV002083