How do scientists study lightning? With a spy plane and some big storms

Lightning: It happens all the time, and yet the exact details of how it's made has long eluded scientists. New research out this week in the journal Nature gives new insights into the precursor to lightning — and it has to do with gamma rays. Because gamma rays are found in places like neutron stars and around black holes, yes. But they're also found in thunderstorms!

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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and Jason Fuller. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and Brent Baughman. It was fact-checked by Tyler Jones. The audio engineer was J Czys.