'Dark lightning' zaps airline passengers with radiation

http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/20...g-zaps-airline-passengers-with-radiation?lite



"Dark lightning" that is almost invisible within clouds may regularly blast airline passengers with large numbers of gamma rays, scientists find.

However, these outbursts do not seem to reach truly dangerous levels, researchers added.

More than a decade ago, researchers unexpectedly discovered thunderstorms could generate brief but powerful bursts of gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light. These so-called terrestrial gamma-ray flashes are so bright that they are able to blind sensors on satellites many hundreds of miles away.

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