Are you ready for dark lightning?

Move over, dark energy and dark matter. There is a new dark kid on the block. And we can visit this one right here on Earth, no trip into interstellar space required. Dark lightning occurs within thunder heads when electrons racing around at near the speed of light collide with particles within atoms and emit gamma radiation. As global warming increases the severity of storms, bolts of dark lightning, originally observed by NASA spacecraft back in 1994, are becoming increasingly common within thunderheads at altitudes that commercial aircraft operate at. The phenomenon doesn’t down the plane, but it does expose passengers to about the level of radiation they would get from a CT scan. A warming planet also means disturbances in the flows of the jet streams, and increased clear air turbulence.

So turn on the black lights, fasten your seat belts, and get ready for a hair-raising, turbulent future with dark lightning in the forecast.