Spectroscopic detection of terrestrial lightning from space by JUICE-MAJIS during Earth Gravity Assist
Abstract
A lightning event was detected by the MAJIS imaging spectrometer onboard the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft during its first Earth gravity assist maneuver. This serendipitous observation represents the first space-based spectroscopic measurement of lightning for any planetary atmosphere. The event, composed of four flashes, was registered on 2024, August, 20th in an area offshore of Sumatra island, during local nighttime, near to optically thick clouds probed by MAJIS thermal wavelengths. No coincident detection has been obtained by ground-based lightning sensor networks, yet MAJIS observations provide unambiguous evidence of neutral atomic oxygen and nitrogen emissions, identified through several diagnostic lines. A faint Hα signature may also tentatively be associated with lightning flashes.
As MAJIS is not optimized for such observations, a number of caveats related to spectral and temporal resolutions have been considered when deriving absolute quantities, such as lightning energy and temperature. Retrieved energies are overall consistent with known emission by lightning of average strength, ranging from (0.7 ± 0.2) to (1.3 ± 0.3) MJ in the 777 nm O I line and from (0.5 ± 0.2) to (1.5 ± 0.4) MJ in the 870 nm N I line. Estimates of the temperature of the lightning channel yield a broad range of values, spanning between 5000 and 20 000 K, with standard uncertainties of the order of 2000-3000 K depending on the retrieval method. This is ascribed to a higher sensitivity to biases induced by the limited measurement resolutions.
Overall, this observation represents a useful benchmark for guiding detection and interpreting possible lightning events on Jupiter, a primary target of the JUICE mission. A preliminary extrapolation of the terrestrial case to the conditions of Jovian atmosphere suggests that H I emissions in the 650 and 1870 nm spectral ranges are the most promising for identifying lightning on Jupiter with the MAJIS instrument.
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BibTeX
@article{daversa2026spectroscopic,
title = {{Spectroscopic detection of terrestrial lightning from space by JUICE-MAJIS during Earth Gravity Assist}},
author = {Emiliano d'Aversa and Fabrizio Oliva and Giuseppe Piccioni and François Poulet and Ivana Kolmašová and Benoît Seignovert and Alessandra Migliorini and Gianrico Filacchione and Leigh Fletcher and Alessandro Mura and Yves Langevin and Davide Grassi and Sébastien Rodriguez and Federico Tosi and Nicolas Ligier and Giuseppe Sindoni and Marco Giardino and Christina Plainaki},
journal = {Annales Geophysicae},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.5194/angeo-44-435-2026},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05753516v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Spectroscopic detection of terrestrial lightning from space by JUICE-MAJIS during Earth Gravity Assist
AU - Emiliano d'Aversa
AU - Fabrizio Oliva
AU - Giuseppe Piccioni
AU - François Poulet
AU - Ivana Kolmašová
AU - Benoît Seignovert
AU - Alessandra Migliorini
AU - Gianrico Filacchione
AU - Leigh Fletcher
AU - Alessandro Mura
AU - Yves Langevin
AU - Davide Grassi
AU - Sébastien Rodriguez
AU - Federico Tosi
AU - Nicolas Ligier
AU - Giuseppe Sindoni
AU - Marco Giardino
AU - Christina Plainaki
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/04
JO - Annales Geophysicae
DO - 10.5194/angeo-44-435-2026
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05753516v1
AB - A lightning event was detected by the MAJIS imaging spectrometer onboard the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft during its first Earth gravity assist maneuver. This serendipitous observation represents the first space-based spectroscopic measurement of lightning for any planetary atmosphere. The event, composed of four flashes, was registered on 2024, August, 20th in an area offshore of Sumatra island, during local nighttime, near to optically thick clouds probed by MAJIS thermal wavelengths. No coincident detection has been obtained by ground-based lightning sensor networks, yet MAJIS observations provide unambiguous evidence of neutral atomic oxygen and nitrogen emissions, identified through several diagnostic lines. A faint Hα signature may also tentatively be associated with lightning flashes. As MAJIS is not optimized for such observations, a number of caveats related to spectral and temporal resolutions have been considered when deriving absolute quantities, such as lightning energy and temperature. Retrieved energies are overall consistent with known emission by lightning of average strength, ranging from (0.7 ± 0.2) to (1.3 ± 0.3) MJ in the 777 nm O I line and from (0.5 ± 0.2) to (1.5 ± 0.4) MJ in the 870 nm N I line. Estimates of the temperature of the lightning channel yield a broad range of values, spanning between 5000 and 20 000 K, with standard uncertainties of the order of 2000-3000 K depending on the retrieval method. This is ascribed to a higher sensitivity to biases induced by the limited measurement resolutions. Overall, this observation represents a useful benchmark for guiding detection and interpreting possible lightning events on Jupiter, a primary target of the JUICE mission. A preliminary extrapolation of the terrestrial case to the conditions of Jovian atmosphere suggests that H I emissions in the 650 and 1870 nm spectral ranges are the most promising for identifying lightning on Jupiter with the MAJIS instrument.
SN - 0992-7689
SN - 1432-0576
ER -