Lightning spectra at 100,000 fps

A fundamental understanding of lightning can be inferred from the spectral emissions resulting from the leader and return stroke channel. We compare two events recorded at 00:58:07 and 03:19:19 UT on 19 July 2015 at Langmuir Laboratory. Lightning spectra were recorded using a 100 line per mm grating in front of a Phantom V2010 camera with an 85mm Nikon lens recording at 100,000 frames per second. Coarse resolution spectra (approximately 5nm resolution) are produced from approximately 400-800 nm for each frame. Electric field data from the Langmuir Electric Field Array for the 03:19:19 event show 10 V/m changes in the electric field associated with multiple return strokes visible in the spectral data. Lightning Mapping Array data at Langmuir for the 00:58:07 event show a complex flash extending 10 km in the East-West plane and 6 km in the North-South plane. The imagery data imply that this is a bolt-from-the-blue event.