The most powerful explosions in the known universe come from what are known as gamma-ray bursts — though they may not sound particularly exciting, scientists usually speak about these incredible blasts of electromagnetic radiation in the same breath as giant collapsing stars and black holes.
We've catalogued quite a few of these events since the 1960s, and even used them to help us understand more about galaxy superclusters, but one particular kind of gamma-ray burst has remained somewhat of a mystery. It's called a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF), and it erupts inside thunderstorms on Earth hundreds of feet above our heads.
