On Jupiter, lightning flashes from storms swirling at the poles

The planet’s heat distribution explains why lightning doesn’t strike near the equator

lightning at Jupiter's pole

IN A FLASH  Unlike Earth lightning, which is most concentrated at the equator, Jupiter’s strikes at its poles, as shown in this artist’s rendition.

SwRI, JPL-Caltech/NASA, JUNOCAM

When Voyager 1 revealed lightning on Jupiter in 1979, something about the flashes didn’t make sense.