Scientists Vikas Sonwalkar and Amani Reddy from the University of Alaska Fairbanks have discovered a new electromagnetic wave type, the “specularly reflected whistler.” This wave, carrying lightning energy from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere, challenges the previous belief that such energy remained trapped in the ionosphere. Their research, which utilized data from NASA’s Van Allen Probes and the World Wide Lightning Detection Network, reveals that specularly reflected whistlers may carry more lightning energy to the magnetosphere than previously understood. This discovery has important implications for understanding space weather and its impact on space technology.
Lightning Unveils New Type Of Electromagnetic Wave
