Rocket-triggered lightning in Florida

This University of Florida image shows rocket-triggered lightning at the UF/FIT International Centre for Lightning research and Testing near Gainsville, Florida.

Researchers for the first time have captured X-ray images of lightning, a feat that they hope will help them better predict how lightning moves.

A team from the Florida Institute of Technology and University of Florida launched small rockets into thunderclouds.

Using a special camera, the researchers recorded X-rays coming from the resulting light flashes before they hit the ground. Scientists have known that lightning emits X-rays, but they don't fully understand it.

Picture: AP / UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA