(Image by: NASA's Goddard Space Flight center) Whenever I come across the word antimatter, the first thing that comes into my head is the universe and how big it is. In addition, I also think about how antimatter is somthing that is far away, deep in the universe nowhere near where I am. But the article I read on NASAs website proved me wrong. It talked about how NASAs gamma-ray space telescope Fermi detected antimatter being released from thunderstorms on Earth! Apparantly in a thunderstorms intense electrical field, electrons located there are accelerated upwards (here the electrons can ramp up to speeds close to light!). When one of these electrons come in contact with an atom it gives off a gamma-ray. In addittion very few times a gamma-ray grazes an atom. Accordingly, it then transforms into two particles. One normal matter, an electron, the other electrons oppisite, a positron, otherwise known as antimatter. The accelerated electrons travel on the Earths magnetic field. Some of these hit Fermi also riding on Earths magnetic field letting it detect this amzing phenomenon in the first place. That is really cool. I mean who would of thought something like antimatter was created in the everyday thunderstorm.
(here is the link to the article I got this info. from. You should really take a look at it because it provides more info. and there is a really cool and enriching video about the subject as well!)
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