Jupiter Lightning 100x More Powerful Than Earth's

NASA's Juno spacecraft detects incredibly powerful lightning storms on Jupiter

Mar. 24, 2026 at 2:44am

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NASA's Juno spacecraft has detected lightning on Jupiter that is up to 100 times more powerful than lightning on Earth, according to a new study by UC Berkeley scientists. The study analyzed data from Juno's microwave radiometer, which can detect radio emissions from lightning. The researchers found that some of Jupiter's lightning flashes release up to 500 times more energy than a typical Earth lightning bolt, and possibly as much as 10,000 times more. The powerful lightning is likely generated by Jupiter's massive, towering storms, which can reach over 60 miles high.

Why it matters

Studying lightning on other planets like Jupiter provides valuable insights into the fundamental physics of thunderstorms and lightning, which are still not fully understood on Earth. The extreme power of Jupiter's lightning also highlights the immense scale and energy of the planet's massive storms, which are far more intense than anything seen on our home planet.

The details

Juno's microwave radiometer detected clusters of radio pulses from lightning in Jupiter's atmosphere, with some individual flashes registering over 200 separate pulses. By comparing the microwave power of the Jovian lightning to measurements of lightning on Earth, the researchers calculated that the energy released by Jupiter's bolts ranges from similar to Earth's up to 500 times greater, and possibly as much as 10,000 times more powerful. This extreme power is likely due to the unique atmospheric composition and towering scale of Jupiter's storms, which can reach over 60 miles high compared to just 6 miles for Earth's thunderstorms.

  • On August 17, 2022, Juno detected a cluster of radio pulses from lightning in Jupiter's atmosphere.
  • Between 2021 and 2022, the researchers analyzed data from 12 Juno flybys of isolated 'stealth superstorms' on Jupiter.

The players

Michael Wong

A planetary scientist at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory and lead author of the study.

Juno spacecraft

NASA's spacecraft that has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016 and scanning the planet's atmosphere with its microwave radiometer.

Ivana Kolmašová

A space physicist at Charles University in Prague, Czechia, and a member of the Czech Academy of Sciences, who co-authored the study.

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What they’re saying

“There's so much we don't know about lightning on Earth.”

— Michael Wong, Planetary scientist, UC Berkeley

“Because we had a precise location, we were able to just say, 'OK, we know where it is. We're directly measuring the power.'”

— Michael Wong, Planetary scientist, UC Berkeley

What’s next

The researchers plan to continue studying Jupiter's powerful lightning storms to better understand the fundamental physics behind their extreme energy release compared to lightning on Earth.

The takeaway

The discovery of lightning on Jupiter that is up to 100 times more powerful than Earth's lightning highlights the immense scale and energy of the planet's massive storms, which can reach over 60 miles high. Studying these extreme storms provides valuable insights into the physics of thunderstorms that are still not fully understood on our own planet.