# What is lightning like in nebulae?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-lightning-like-in-nebulae/733149
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 1, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-lightning-like-in-nebulae/733149 "2015-10-01T15:53:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-lightning-like-in-nebulae/733149/1 "2015-10-01T15:53:36Z")
Thanks,
Rob
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-lightning-like-in-nebulae/733149/2 "2015-10-01T15:56:14Z")
That depends on the atmosphere and other meteorological conditions of the planet in the nebula, of course. If it’s an Earthlike planet, then the lightning would be like lightning on Earth. Why, what were you expecting?
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### Author:  [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-lightning-like-in-nebulae/733149/3 "2015-10-01T16:47:36Z")
Lightning inside a nebula is going to be driven by differing electrical potentials being able to achieve a sufficiently large enough potential difference that a discharge takes place.
But I think you’re considering a nebula to look like Wrath of Khan when really they aren’t like that at all.
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### Author:  [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-lightning-like-in-nebulae/733149/4 "2015-10-01T17:31:32Z")
Does the nebula contain a magnetar? Might cause some fireworks.
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### Author:  [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-lightning-like-in-nebulae/733149/5 "2015-10-01T18:51:23Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#):
>
> Thanks,
> Rob
Nebulae?
As in, gas and dust clouds between stars?
There wouldn’t be any thing resembling lightning. Nebulae have particle densities measuring in the ones to tens of particles per cubic centimeter, which is lower particle density than the hardest man-made artificial vacuum.
It wouldn’t be lightning. If some of the molecules were ionized, you may get plasma emissions, but I think that would just like a diffuse visible glow.
Star Trek: Wrath of Khan had lovely visual effects, but purely fictional.
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### Author:  [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-lightning-like-in-nebulae/733149/6 "2015-10-02T01:40:44Z")
As in the cast off outer layer of a star when it goes nova or supernova, or the stellar nebulae around a protostar. Surely these have higher densities than the interstellar medium?
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### Author:  [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-lightning-like-in-nebulae/733149/7 "2015-10-02T14:06:05Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#):
>
> As in the cast off outer layer of a star when it goes nova or supernova, or the stellar nebulae around a protostar. Surely these have higher densities than the interstellar medium?
But nowhere near the density of atmosphere, by 13 orders of magnitude. Even the best artificial vacuum is about 10[sup]10[/sup] particles per cm[sup]3[/sup], whereas the densest protoplanetary nebula numbers I could find via Google seem to be about 10[sup]5[/sup] or 10[sup]6[/sup] particles per cm[sup]3[/sup].
Yes. All parts of extra-atmospheric space suck exceedingly hard. Electrical/ionic discharges out there won’t look anything like lightning, and probably more like EM emissions from a charged particle beam in a vacuum chamber, except with less interaction with molecules (or ions).