Thousands of lightning strikes in the UK and across the world have been caught on camera by Europe's first lightning imager
Brit mum, 48, died after being struck by lightning on her ear during holiday in 'unusual and desperately sad' tragedySimonetta Cheli, director of Earth observation programmes at ESA, said: “The animations show the instrument’s ability to accurately and effectively detect lightning activity over the whole area of the cameras’ field of view, which covers 84% of the Earth disc."
The lightning data will help weather forecasters predict the weather, and researchers understand climate change. At the same time, the Lightning Imager "will also play a key role in air traffic safety, given that lightning poses a high risk to aircraft's onboard instrumentation," the ESA said.Eumetsat Director General, Phil Evans said: "Severe storms are often preceded by abrupt changes in lightning activity.
"By observing these changes in activity, Lightning Imager data will give weather forecasters additional confidence in their forecasts of severe storms."The Lightning Imager was built by Italian aerospace company Leonardo. Project engineering manager Guia Pastorini said: "The Lightning Imager has four cameras and each one can capture 1000 images per second, day and night, detecting even a single lightning bolt faster than the blink of an eye."Thanks to specific algorithms, data is processed on board to send only useful information to Earth, supporting the development of more accurate weather forecasts, as well as contributing to the study of weather phenomena and air transport safety.
"Together with ESA and Eumetsat, and coordinating an international industrial team, Leonardo has been working on this outstanding technology for ten years, and today we are very proud to present the images of the first European lightning hunter, the only in the world with these unique performances."
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