Lightning storms can be stunning events to behold, but one recent storm in Guatemala was even more impressive than usual.
The storm, which took place in the skies over Antigua, saw lightning strike the top of the Volcan de Agua volcano .
Photographer Sergo Montufar snapped an incredible photo of the event, which NASA has now featured as its Astronomy Picture of the Day.
NASA wrote: “Pictured earlier this month in a two-image composite, lightning stems from communication antennas near the top of Volcán de Agua (Volcano of Water) in Guatemala.”
Despite happening around 6,000 times every minute, amazingly, scientists are still unclear about the details of what causes lightning.
NASA explained: “Details of what causes lightning are still being researched, but it is known that inside some clouds, internal updrafts cause collisions between ice and snow that slowly separate charges between cloud tops and bottoms.
“The rapid electrical discharges that are lightning soon result.”
Most lightning creates a jagged streak in the sky, heating a thin column of air to temperatures around three times the temperature of the surface of the Sun!
This isn’t the first time that NASA has featured a photo of a volcano as its Astronomy Picture of the Day.
In May, a stunning photo of a volcano erupting as a meteor shot over the Milky Way was featured.
NASA explained: “On the land of the featured image, the Volcano of Fire (Volcán de Fuego) is seen erupting topped by red-hot, wind-blown ash and with streams of glowing lava running down its side.”
