A terrestrial lightning event has been spectroscopically observed from the JUICE spacecraft during a flyby, maybe for the first time from space. Though not detected by ground sensors, JUICE confirmed neutral atomic oxygen and nitrogen emissions, with energies and temperatures consistent with average lightning. This observation is a benchmark for Jupiter, a primary JUICE target, where simultaneous hydrogen emissions in different wavelength ranges could be used to identify lightning.

We contribute to understanding differences in lightning flashes of opposite polarity by explaining distinct in-cloud processes after return strokes. Using data from multiple sensors, including individual Lightning Mapping Array stations, we reveal that positive flashes sustain strong high-frequency radiation due to the recharging of their in-cloud leader; this is in contrast to negative flashes, for which this activity declines rapidly.

Lightning and extreme weather can endanger people and technology. Despite advances in science, not all the factors that lead to the formation of thunderclouds, to their charging and to lightning ignition are known in detail. This paper shows that lightning frequency may, to some extent, be modulated by solar activity and solar wind. Namely, in the region of the South Atlantic Anomaly of the Earth's magnetic field, it correlates with the polarity and intensity of the solar wind.

Gamma ray radiation related to thunderstorms was previously observed at the high-altitude mountain observatories or on the western coast of Japan, usually being terminated by lightning discharges. We show unusual observations of gamma rays at an altitude below 1000 m, coinciding with peculiar rapid variations in the vertical electric field, which are linked to inverted intracloud lightning discharges. This indicates that a strong, lower positive-charge region was present inside the thundercloud.