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Full catalog/isslisg_v2_fin
isslisg_v2_fin·v2·dataset

Background views from the space-station lightning sensor

Quality Controlled Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on International Space Station (ISS) Backgrounds V2
atmosphere NASA GHRC_DAAC Level 1B HDF4netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. The steady background light scenes that the space-station lightning camera sees, used as a reference behind the actual lightning detections, with a focus on tropical and subtropical regions.

How it's made. Collected by the Lightning Imaging Sensor mounted on the International Space Station, then quality-checked; the instrument works day and night.

How & where you'd use it. A supporting product behind lightning detection; it helps with severe-storm analysis and studies of how lightning interacts with the atmosphere.

What's measured

Atmosphere › Atmospheric Electricity › Lightning

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2017-03-01 → 2023-11-16
  • Measured byISS (LIS)
  • Processing levelLevel 1B
  • Spatial extent-180, -55, 180, 55
  • FormatsHDF4, netCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

The Quality Controlled Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on International Space Station (ISS) Backgrounds dataset was collected by the LIS instrument mounted on the ISS and are used to detect the distribution and variability of total lightning occurring in the Earth’s tropical and subtropical regions. This dataset consists of quality controlled science data. This data collection can be used for severe storm detection and analysis, as well as for lightning-atmosphere interaction studies. The LIS instrument makes measurements during both day and night with high detection efficiency. The data are available in both HDF-4 and netCDF-4 formats.

Get the data

isslisg_v2_fin_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="isslisg_v2_fin",
    version="2",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GHRC_DAAC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.