Torsten Neubert
Chief Consultant
Department of Space Research and Space Technology
Astrophysics and Atmospheric Physics
Ørsteds Plads
Building 348 Room 225
2800 Kgs. Lyngby
Danmark
mesosphere space science lightning electrical discharges
SCIENTIFIC EXPERIENCE: I studied the physics of electron beams and plasma clouds injected from rockets and the Space Shuttle at Stanford University and the University of Michigan (1984-1994). I assisted Professor Oscar Buneman with developing a 3D particle-in-cell code, which we used to simulate electron beam and cloud injections. When I returned to Denmark, I joined the team behind Denmark's first satellite, Ørsted at the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) - eventually taking on the role of project scientist. With Ørsted data, I studied small-scale, field-aligned, electric currents in the upper atmosphere. At DMI, I branched into the field of electrical discharges in the upper atmosphere powered by thunderstorms below. Now, at DTU Space, we study lightning and high-altitude discharges such as blue jets, sprites and Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs). We use a variety of computer codes and conduct optical observations from Observatoire Midi Pyrénées and other locations. We lead the ASIM experiment on an external platform of the International Space Station (the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor). It measures lightning, red sprites, blue jets, gigantic jets and TGFs. ASIM was launched 2. April 2018, and is still operational (2025). We are currently exploring the technology of neuromorphic imaging, which promises to be able to image electric discharges with microsecond time resolution.