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What cosmic rays tell us about thunderstorms on Earth

When Prof. Heino Falcke obtained an ERC grant to study and identify the sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, back in 2008, he could not imagine that his research would provide an important clue to better understand lightning and thunderclouds much closer to us.

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Environment & climate action Funding Researchers Excellent Science European Research Council Netherlands Environment

date:  15/07/2015

Project:  From Black Holes to Ultra-High Energy Co...

acronym:  LOFAR AUGER

See also:  CORDIS

His team indeed realized that cosmic rays, originating in outer space and striking the Earth from all directions, can provide a near instantaneous 'picture' of the electric fields in clouds. The unexpected finding, to be published this week in Physical Review Letters, is the result of a fruitful collaboration between astronomers, particle physicists and geophysicists. The measurements were performed with the LOFAR radio telescope, located in the Netherlands, and partly funded by the ERC.

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