Earth Data School
About
Full catalog/isslisg_v3_fin
isslisg_v3_fin·v3·dataset

Background images for spotting lightning from the Space Station

Quality Controlled Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on International Space Station (ISS) Backgrounds V3
atmosphere NASA GHRC_DAAC Level 1B netCDF-4 - HDF4
In plain English

What it measures. The background scene images that the lightning sensor records, which provide context for spotting flashes of lightning from space. This is the quality-checked background data, not the lightning flashes themselves.

How it's made. Collected by the Lightning Imaging Sensor mounted on the International Space Station, quality-controlled and provided as science data.

How & where you'd use it. Supports detecting and studying lightning over the tropics and subtropics, useful for severe-storm analysis and lightning-atmosphere interaction research.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY › LIGHTNINGATMOSPHERE › WEATHER EVENTS › LIGHTNING

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2017-03-01 → 2023-11-16
  • Measured byISS (LIS)
  • Processing levelLevel 1B
  • Spatial extent-180, -55, 180, 55
  • FormatsnetCDF-4 - HDF4
  • StatusCOMPLETE

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_v3_fin_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="isslisg_v3_fin",
    version="3",
    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.