The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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The northernmost part of the visible area, that is, northern Scandinavia, never gets dark during the Northern Hemisphere summer and polar day. Local thunderstorms appear during the afternoon in central and southern parts of Europe. These storms form as the Sun heats up the ground during the day and dissipate relatively quickly after sunset.
Some more persistent storm systems can be seen over the Mediterranean, staying active throughout the night. This animation, zooming in Europe, was made using four days’ worth of data from the Meteosat Third Generation Lightning Imager’s north camera, from 00:00 UTC 8 June to 23:59 UTC 11 June 2023. It was made from raw preliminary data and is not for operational use.