First direct evidence of lightning on Mars

University of Michigan researchers say they have found direct evidence for lightning on Mars caused by a large dust storm.

Researchers saw on Mars a series of huge and sudden electrical discharges caused by a large dust storm . Clearly, there was no rain associated with the electrical discharges on Mars.

The findings were made using an innovative microwave detector developed at the University of Michigan Space Physics Research Laboratory. The kurtosis detector is capable of differentiating between thermal and non-thermal radiation, where non-thermal radiation is associated with the presence of lightning. Between 22 May and 16 June 2006 the instrument took measurements of microwave emissions for approximately five hours each day, and on 8 June both an unusual pattern of non-thermal radiation and an intense Martian dust storm occurred, the only time that non-thermal radiation was detected.