This chemical is a fluorophore, containing many aromatic groups and having the ability to absorb light and re-emit a new photon (fluorescence). There are other types of fluorescence that allow re-emission of light at higher energies or even the same energy but in this case the re-emitted light is at a lower energy. Because it is under a UV light, it absorbs the UV and the light that it re-emits will be visible to human eyes. Sadly, what we can see is only a very narrow band of the spectrum, still pretty awesome!
“The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition.” •Carl Sagan
This is one of those images that just makes you go, “woah.”
Dirty thunderstorms
A dirty thunderstorm (also, Volcanic lightning) is a weather phenomenon that occurs when lightning is produced in a volcanic plume. A study in the journal Science indicated that electrical charges are generated when rock fragments, ash, and ice particles in a volcanic plume collide and produce static charges, just as ice particles collide in regular thunderstorms.
