Thunderstorm and a Kugelblitz? By Christoph Malin (see also his previous guest posts here) On June 22nd, 2023, the heat was finally peaking after days of a heatwave around Innsbruck, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Bavaria, and South Tyrol, evening thunderstorms were predicted. and a high amount of dust limited visibility. On my way back from filming fireflies at the Gschnitz Valley, the horizon towards the Karwendel Mountains was lightning illuminated nearly every second. I quickly found a location with a field of view towards the Karwendel Mountain Range. I set up both the Nikon Z 8 and Z 9 for 8.3K 60p NRAW N-Log with the Z 50mm f/1.2 S and Z 35mm f/1.8 S plus Z 70-200mm f/2.8 as an option. The Lightshow was intense. From a distance of about 85 km, I could see the thunderstorm moving over Southern Bavaria, backlit and illuminating the Nordkette Mountain Range: The first 10 minutes of lightning was in a 1-3 seconds interval. Then intervals got a bit longer, like 3-8 seconds, I condensed the shots a bit in the resolve timeline. It must have been a fierce thunderstorm on the ground, hopefully, nobody was hurt. KUGELBLITZ OR SATELLITE FLARE? Around 2:14 min of the Z 9 footage (ISO 12800, f1.6, 1/13 sec exposure), one can see a glowing object “flying out” of the cumulonimbus cloud, at the diffuse edge of the cloud. First I thought – wow “Kugelblitz”. But I’d say it is rather a satellite reflection, typical of the many Starlink...
Published By: Nikonrumors - Sunday, 2 July, 2023