Lightning strike over observatory.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Hi,

Could'nt believe my luck!!

After the rianbow shot and hoping to capture a lightning strike on the next storm front. One strike broke directly behind my observatory.

Cheers,

Justin.

[DavidU]

That first shot is awesome Justin:thumbsup:

[multiweb]

Great shot. :thumbsup: Scary though.

[Kevnool]

What a capture..
I bet shirts were trumps there for a split second..

Cheers

[mill]

That first shot is brilliant:thumbsup:

[leon]

Man, what a lucky strike, love it.

Leon

[bartman]

?????
Great shot Justin!
but how come they are the same bolt? The main bolt has the same path...
I'm obviously missing something here.....
Video capture? or a very fast lightning trigger shot twice?
Love to know
Cheers
Bartman

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Hi, Bart.

Yep video capture at 30 frames per second.
Yes the same strike the next one in sequence on the video.
I just did a drame grab to get the still images.

Cheers,
Justin.

[FlashDrive]

Wow ... that's cool .... !!!! I bet it went " BANG "

Don't you love the smell of " ironizied " air.

Flash :hi:

[mishku]

sensational!

[bartman]

Thanks Justin!
Still a great shot right above the obs though!
Bartman

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Hi,

Thanks for the comments, I should have bought a xlotto ticket after this. Although I had to do my penance today for taking such a lucky shot.
The storm dropped 42mm of rain here at penwortham in less than 2 hours washing away the driveway, which I've just spent 3 hours fixing

Cheers,

Justin.

[astroron]

Great Capture Justin, I bet you are glad it wasn't closer:eyepop:
Cheers:thumbsup:

[jjjnettie]

Kaboom!!
Great shot

[astronobob]

Wow, Thats a Keeper, no question. Magic capture ! !

[gregbradley]

Fantastic lighting shots.

Does anyone know why lightning is jagged and not a smooth arc or straight line?

Greg.

[White Rabbit]

Omg, hope you changed your shorts after that. Thats close...

[Virgs]

That is a lot of energy above you - great shot

[sheeny]

Nice capture!

I love lightning shots!

Al.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Hi,

Thanks again for the comments.
There was so much lightning all around, mostly sheet lightning. The noise of constant thunder kept me on edge, that's for sure!!

I was hiding under the carport most of the time.

Cheers,

Justin.

[Astroman]

Awesome strike Justin!

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Hi,

Thanks Andrew, was that your video of funnel cloud on channel nine news last night?

I've been admiring your work, you're certainly dedicated to it.
Worked out how far away that strike was, with the speed of sound through air at a temp of 20 degree's celcius being 331.5 mps, I timed the flash to the lightning strike to to the thunder of an an average of three timings, of 4.9 seconds.

Comes out at approx 1.6 kms away.

That's close enough!

Cheers,
Justin.

[Pi]

That is some fantastic fortune to be standing right in that spot with the camera rolling at that exact time! Awesome stuff :thumbsup:



I'd say it is because current (flow of electrons) likes to flow through the path of least resistance. The resistance of the atmosphere is going to be determined by factors such as moisture and impurities present at a specific location and therefore won't be constant. The jagged arch is due to these variations in resistance from the static charge build up to earth.

[Astroman]

Yes Justin, that is my Funnel Footage that was shown. Unfortunately for some reason my email forwarding for youtube didn't work so I missed Channel 9's email about it... I love Chasing Thunderstorms and love the thrill of capturing something like this.

1.6km thats not too bad then, it's a good distance without being too scary... some may disagree. Closest I have been was 3m, luckily I was in my car, closest outside the car, 50ft... :)

Enough to make your hair stand on end literally.

Do you have available the video? I have a few friends who would LOVE to see the footage with the thunder....

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Hi, Andrew.

50ft !!! too close for me.
Yes i have the video, I"ll pm it later.
Just trying to cut the video and slow it down. There seems to be three parts to the strike, the initial strike, then a bright single half length and finally a full single thats fainter that seems to go back up into the clouds???

Have you witnessed this before?

Cheers,

Justin.

[Astroman]

You should have different phases of the strike, happens quite quickly sometimes but often it's not just one strike you see, it's multiple. You should see something like a bright strike, or return stroke, which happens when the stepped leader from the lightning strike makes contact with the streamer from the ground. then after the initial contact things calm down a bit and you get the single looking channel. the half channel could be internal lens reflection also, due to the brightness of the strike. If you send me the video I'd be able to tell you.

Would you give me permission to show it to other people also? with proper credits of course.

[bartman]

Greg/Pi,
Hhehehe :lol: I saw the question and thought the same thing as Pi. Path of least resistance......but could not quantify it!
Thanks Pi for the explanation ( I did ponder the atmospheric irregularities as a possibility, but wasn't sure ;))
Cheers
Bartman

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

No problem Andrew.

Sent you a PM can you reply to it so I can send the video.

Cheers,
Justin

[Astroman]

Okay haven't got the PM yet... or am I a bit early :D

[RosieA]

Fabulous :)

[ChrisM]

Fantastic capture Justin. The shot with the many forks looks surreal.

I've wondered a few times whether a tall conducting telescope pier coupled with a non-conducting dome (eg. fibreglass) would ever attract lightning and pose a hazard to the observatory equipment. If I know that a storm is coming I usually unplug the internet connection to the obs and turn off the main switch on the sub-board.

Chris

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Hi,

Thanks for the comments.
The image is a bit deceptive, the strike was 1.6 kms away. I timed it off the video.
Yeh, I don't know whether a fibre glass dome would be be any protection? I suppose someone on this forum would know. As for my dome, it's all metal and would imagine it would damage the scope and sundry items if it were hit.
Fortunately my power source for the observatory can be unplugged in my garage.

Cheers,

Justin.