ArticleScientific reports2026
Lightning initiation on the exoplanet K2-18b.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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6 authors.
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Abstract
Recent JWST data provide a basis for investigations into exoplanetary atmospheres at novel high precision. Weather and climate on these planets, along with the implications of the observed atmospheric composition for extraterrestrial life, remain hotly debated. Using photochemical modelling data based on JWST observations as inputs for a thoroughly validated plasma simulation code, we present the first simulations of streamers, precursors of lightning, in an exoplanetary atmosphere. We find the electrical breakdown field magnitude in this atmosphere to be approximately half that of Earth, indicative of an atmosphere more susceptible to lightning than our own. We show that lightning can incept on K2-18b in all three tested atmospheric configurations, and that variations in atmospheric composition, in particular in the presence of water vapour, affect the rate of streamer inception.
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