(2023-10-03, 10:03)kelper Wrote: In lightningmaps charts, does the spot mark where the lightning hit the ground, where it originated or in between?
There was a methane explosion last night at about 19:17 hours at the Severn Trent Green recycling plant in Cassington, near Oxford.
But looking at the maps for the last 24 hours, the nearest strikes were three miles away?
Theoretically, it's the ground point... if everything were absolutely perfect and stations standardized, it could be within meters of accuracy.... keeping in mind that a discharge stroke has the potential to be many miles long, and the 'best data' from stations should contain a pre-charge, and strong, sharp discharge impulse, followed by at least three zero crossings in group, with perfect timing and stable relative gains, there will be 'deviation' error. 8 or so stations would have to be within about 50 km to produce this precision. With 'deviation' inherent, rarely does the actual 'ground' point coincide with displayed location... the goal is to generally be within a km and within 300m is cause for celebration... I PERSONALLY have seen 3 plotted strokes over the years, near my location that were actually within meters of the confirmed 'ground point'. That deviation inherent in a 'citizens low-cost' network is one reason Blitzortung remains classified as 'hobbyist'.
