Upper-atmospheric lightning

Lightning is something that happens when the air around us gets really, really excited. Sometimes this happens way up high in the sky, in something called the "upper atmosphere" where there are not many people around to see it.

Upper-atmospheric lightning is like normal lightning, but instead of happening near the ground, it happens way up high near the part of the atmosphere called the "ionosphere." Scientists think that this kind of lightning happens because tiny pieces of ice and rocks from space crash into the Earth's atmosphere and make the air there really excited.

Even though we can't see upper-atmospheric lightning very often, it's still really important for scientists to study it because it can help us understand more about our planet and how it works. Plus, it's really cool to learn about all the different kinds of lightning that happen in our world!