Recent Research Results on Extraterrestrial Lightning

The whistler rate estimated from the plasma wave analyser implies a lightning flash Evidence exists for lightning activity on the Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus. analysis of spacecraft observations gives a better idea of how the activity varies from planet to planet, but leave many questions unanswered. This paper will examine recent research results on extraterrestrial compare the characteristics of terrestrial and extraterrestrial lightning, and examine the questions raised by the comparisons. Excellent reviews of terrestrial lightning are available in Lightning (Uman, 1969), Lightning (edited by Golde, 1977), and Handbook of Atmospherics (edited by Vollard, 1982). Review articles on extraterrestrial lightning have been presented b'y Rinnert (1982), Levin et al (1983), and Williams et al (1983). Because of the availability of these review articles, only a brief review will be included here where needed. This paper is organized into sections discussing lightning activity on Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Next a brief section is presented on the level of lightning activity that can be expected on Titan. A short section comparing the characteristics of terrestrial and extraterrestrial lightning is followed by a section discussing questions raised by the observations. The last section summarizes results.