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Click, click cli-cli-cli-click. That's the sound of lightning striking the world in real-time. At least according to a map made by Egon Wanke and Tobias Volgnandt.

The German duo has worked to build up a network of amateur meteorologists who have connected lightning sensors -- which collect data relating to lightning strikes in their area -- to the web. This allows for a very active map -- Blitzortung -- that shows how often the world gets hit by these massive electrostatic charges.


The project was initially developed by Wanke back in 2012, who wanted to democratise access to data relating to lightning strikes -- traditionally guarded by commercial networks that charged large fees to people seeking that data -- whether that be airports or energy companies concerned about power surges. There were a number of other lightning detectors on the market, but none was particularly accurate or cost-effective. As a result, Wanke decided to develop his own detector. He went for a time-of-arrival approach to lightning detection, which is what tends to be used by commercial networks. "His goal was to create something really low-cost," explained Volgnandt over the phone to Wired.co.uk. "It is also about providing free maps for everyone and having some fun."

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Individuals can buy their own detector (for around EUR200) from Blitzortung and connect it to the network. The detectors currently require some assembly by the user, including soldering, and some basic understanding of how electromagnetism behaves (meaning that the detectors need to be as far away from anything that might interfere with it, including other electrical devices such as CRT screens, amplifiers and vacuum cleaners) so it's not massively accessible as yet.

Once the receiver is built, users can connect it to the internet and Blitzortung's central processing servers receive the data and can then calculate the exact positions of the discharges that have been detected based on the intensity of the measurements combined with the GPS location of the receiver. This data is then published in real-time to the website. Individuals who supply data to the network are free to use the raw data for non-commercial purposes.

So far, the team has sold more than 1,000 detectors, and around 800 are connected to the web. "But that's growing fast. We've had several requests over the last few days," said Volgnandt, in recognition of the viral spike in interest they have received.


The team is currently working on more of a plug-and-play device that requires less knowledge on behalf of the user, but Wanke and Volgnandt are trying to balance meeting the demands of the community with having a fun hobby. "I's really cool when you see the signals on the detector from thousands of kilometres away and then in a few seconds you see the lightning strikes on the map," Volgnandt explains. "It's not a job, it's a hobby. We are working every day. We try what we can, but we need days that are 100 hours long!"

The result is a mesmerising map that clicks and flashes each time lightning strikes. The coverage is skewed towards where the community is strongest -- so Europe, USA and Australia. "But there's none in Asia, Africa or South America," Volgnandt says. He adds that he'd love the coverage to be more evenly-spread, but doesn't want to dictate that people should get involved. "Those who want to participate can do so in order to have fun and learn."

You can check out the map and learn how to get involved here.