"Everything points to this being Martian lightning”

Cardiff University congratulates NASA's Perseverance rover and Chide et al. for the potential discovery of lightning on Mars.

In writing for the scientific publication Nature, Dr Daniel Mitchard of our Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory was invited to provide independent commentary on the context and importance of this discovery for a wider scientific audience;

“The recordings provide persuasive evidence of dust-induced discharges that fit with scientists’ understanding of how such events would occur on Mars… the findings are compelling enough to open fresh avenues of research.”

In addition to his Nature article, Dr Mitchard’s expert insight has been quoted in over a hundred news outlets worldwide.

“It really is a chance discovery to hear something else going on nearby, and everything points to this being Martian lightning,” But until new instruments are sent to verify the findings, “I think there will still be a debate from some scientists as to whether this really was lightning.”

Prof. Jianzhong Wu, Head of the School of Engineering, adds: "This discovery represents a remarkable step forward in our understanding of Mars as an active and dynamic planet. Dan’s expert analysis in Nature has helped to clarify why the detection of lightning on Mars matters, not only for planetary science, but for how we model atmospheric processes across different worlds. We are proud to see work of this calibre contributing to international scientific discourse.”

Read Dr Mitchard’s full analysis in Nature issue 647, pages 857-858, where you can also read about NASA’s discovery in full on pages 865-869.

You can find out more about the Cardiff University Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory at https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/explore/research-facilities/lightning-laboratory