Photographer Uğur İkіzler has crafted a breathtaking time-lapse image capturing the sheer power and beauty of over a hundred lightning bolts illuminating the skies of Türkiye. The awe-inspiring spectacle occurred during a violent thunderstorm, showcasing nature’s fierce intensity in a single, electrifying frame.
Set against the backdrop of the coastal town of Mudanya, İkіzler’s photographic masterpiece combines multiple frames taken over 50 minutes on the night of June 16. On average, a lightning strike occurred every 30 seconds during this mesmerizing display.
“Each one of those lightning bolts is beautiful to the eye, but when I combined all the lightning in one frame, the scene was terrifying. The thunderstorm was a huge visual feast,” shared İkіzler, the astronomical photographer behind this captivating image.
The photograph reveals at least three distinct types of lightning, including bolts between clouds, cloud-to-ground strikes, and cloud-to-water lightning. Such diversity in lightning forms is not uncommon during intense thunderstorms. Worldwide, there are approximately 1.4 billion lightning strikes each year, translating to 3 million strikes per day and an astonishing 44 strikes per second, as reported by the British Meteorological Agency.
Each individual lightning bolt carries a voltage ranging from 100 million to one billion volts. This immense energy elevates the ambient air temperature between 10,000 and 33,000 degrees Celsius, as noted by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). To put it in perspective, the surface temperature of the Sun is only 5,500 degrees Celsius.
The characteristic zigzag shape of lightning, showcased in the new photograph, remains a mystery to researchers. A 2022 study suggests that this zigzag pattern may be the result of a highly conductive form of oxygen accumulating abnormally when lightning strikes the ground.
Uğur İkіzler’s extraordinary image not only captures the extraordinary visual display of nature’s fury but also serves as a reminder of the complexity and wonder that lightning brings to our skies.
