© SuppliedAmerican scientists believe invisible 'dark lightning' packs a potent punch of radiation.
But now scientists have discovered an exotic and dynamic form of energy lurking in the thunderclouds above: dark lightning.
Scientists at the Florida Institute of Technology on the Space Coast are traveling the world explaining the mysterious bursts of energy in the atmosphere during lightning storms that emit little visible light.
According to scientist Joseph Dwyer and his colleagues, space telescopes - looking for high-energy bursts from solar flares, black holes and exploding stars - detected strange, bright bursts but had no idea where they originated.
The phenomenon occurs high in the atmosphere at nearly the same altitude as commercial airline flights. The radiation dark lightning produces is about 100 times more potent than an X-ray.
