There’s something so mysteriously delicious about thunderstorms and lightning, isn’t there?

I mean sure, we know scientifically why it happens, but in the moment, it’s lovely.

What is dark lightning, though, and why does it happen?

It’s connected to regular lightning, which results from charge separation in a cloud.

When negatively-charged electrons build up at the base of a thundercloud, anything that passes over it will be positively charged.

If and when the cloud floats over something tall, the electrons jump, creating the light you see streaking across the sky.

Scientists have realized, though, that lightning also produces sprays of x-rays and gamma rays that are also ejected into the atmosphere – what they’re calling “dark lightning.”

We can’t see it, but it does produce measurable cascade effects.

You can learn more in this video from NASA.

If there’s one thing that should be clear to all of us by now, it’s that everything has a dark side.

Even lightning.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about why we should be worried about the leak in the bottom of the ocean.