Lightning Below

In May of 1993, the Space Shuttle Columbia orbited the Earth carrying the Spacelab Deutsche 2 (SL-D2) science module and spacelab tunnel seen here riding in the shuttle's payload bay. Below, thunderstorms rage over the cloudy Earth . Several lightning flashes are visible in this high speed photograph as intense bright streaks within the clouds. The lights near the center of the picture, just above the the shuttle's tail, are believed to be Mexico City.