                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 July 27
       A volcano is shown with its peak in the midst of purple clouds.
     Lightning appears to come out of the top of the volcano in multiple
   paths into the upper sky. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                     Lightning over the Volcano of Water
            Image Credit: Sergio Montúfar (Pinceladas Nocturnas)

   Explanation: Have you ever watched a lightning storm in awe? You're not
   alone. Details of what causes lightning are still being researched, but
   it is known that inside some clouds, internal updrafts cause collisions
   between ice and snow that slowly separate charges between cloud tops
   and bottoms. The rapid electrical discharges that are lightning soon
   result. Lightning usually takes a jagged course, rapidly heating a thin
   column of air to about three times the surface temperature of the Sun.
   The resulting shock wave starts supersonically and decays into the loud
   sound known as thunder. On average, around the world, about 6,000
   lightning bolts occur between clouds and the Earth every minute.
   Pictured in July 2019 in a two-image composite, lightning stems from
   communication antennas near the top of Volcán de Agua (Volcano of
   Water) in Guatemala.

     Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post
                                    1995)
                   Tomorrow's picture: asteroid explosion
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

