About 20 million bolts of lightning are generated in the atmosphere every year, and during any particular second about 100 to 125 lightning strokes are occurring on our planet. Thunderstorms are very common in the Earth’s atmosphere, with about 1,500 to 2,000 such storms being active at any given time. For astronauts circling the Earth’s night side, this makes for an exciting view as numerous white flashes are easily viewed from a space shuttle or from the International Space Station.