NRAO/Socorro Colloquium Series
Valerie Connaughton
NASA
Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes, Lightning, and Radio Signals
Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) were discovered in 1991 by the
Burst And Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton
Gamma-ray Observatory as mysterious bursts of high-energy radiation
appearing to come from areas of thunderstorm activity. Since then,
they have been detected on three additional satellite experiments
including the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on-board the Fermi
satellite. Our understanding of the relationship between TGFs and
coincident Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio signals has evolved
considerably in the Fermi GBM era, with some VLF signals coming from
lightning associated with the TGFs and others from the TGFs
themselves. I will discuss the Fermi GBM TGF observations, with
special attention to their association with VLF radio signals
detected on the ground.
May 9, 2014
11:00 am
Array Operations Center Auditorium
All NRAO employees are invited to attend via video, available in Charlottesville 245, Green Bank Auditorium, Tucson N525, and NTC 400.
Local Host: Dale Frail
