Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:Scientists have long understood why lightning forms, but the atomic processes at the core of the phenomenon have remained largely a mystery—especially the strange mechanics behind terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). A new study combines ground-based observation with mathematical models to detail the high-energy photons and X-rays responsible for TGFs. This gives scientists one of the clearest pictures yet of exactly how lightning forms within a thundercloud. Incredibly, lightning can even briefly produce gamma-rays, which are typically spewed from things like supernovae or black hole jets. Why, exactly, does lightning produce electromagnetic energy that rivals some of the most intense celestial ongoings in the universe?