<Li> Likewise, vapors and ash originating from vents on the volcano's flanks may produce more localized and smaller flashes upwards of 2.9 km long . </Li> <Li> Small, short duration sparks, recently documented near newly extruded magma, attest to the material being highly charged prior to even entering the atmosphere . </Li> <P> Lightning has been observed within the atmospheres of other planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn . Although in the minority on Earth, superbolts appear to be common on Jupiter . </P> <P> Lightning on Venus has been a controversial subject after decades of study . During the Soviet Venera and U.S. Pioneer missions of the 1970s and 1980s, signals suggesting lightning may be present in the upper atmosphere were detected . Although the Cassini--Huygens mission fly - by of Venus in 1999 detected no signs of lightning, the observation window lasted mere hours . Radio pulses recorded by the spacecraft Venus Express (which began orbiting Venus in April 2006) may originate from lightning on Venus . </P>

Cloud-to-ground lightning results in a flow of electrons from the ground to the cloud