Model of UV flashes due to gigantic blue jets

Analysis of UV flashes observed by the UV detector on board the ‘Tatiana’ microsatellite suggests, based on their location, pulse width and energy of the source of the photons, that the flashes were generated by gigantic blue jets (GBJs). Presented in this paper is a numerical model of UV flashes due to a bunch of long streamers which form a leader, a prong such as that observed in a GBJ. Using a previously developed model of upward propagation of a long streamer in the exponential atmosphere the paper describes temporal evolution of the UV flux generated by a bunch of long streamers, in the given spectral range 300‐400nm used by the UV detector on board ‘Tatiana’. The model is in agreement with the observations. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

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