Mars is about to join a currently exclusive planetary club. Until today, the only worlds known to have lightning were Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn. It has long been suspected that the Red Planet, with its whirlwinds and global dust storms, could have some lightning phenomena, just like in the deserts of Earth. Now, researchers have finally found evidence supporting that notion. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The evidence is not visual, as we might expect when we picture lightning . Instead, it is audio recordings from the SuperCam microphone aboard the Perseverance rover. And it didn't record thunder either – the recordings are of the electric discharge that happens in the air.

The team reports that they recorded 55 e

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