Did you know: a typical bolt of lightning is about 3 miles long and heats the air immediately surrounding the bolt to over 20,000 degrees Celsius? That&#039;s three times hotter than the surface of the sun. For many Americans, summer isn&#039;t complete without an exciting thunderstorm to break up the heat. This electrifying photo was taken by Sandia Labs photographer Randy Montoya during a summer storm on July 21, 2013. The lightning illuminated the Redstone rocket that stands in front of the National Museum of Nuclear Science &amp; History in Albuquerque, New Mexico. | Photo courtesy of Randy Montoya, Sandia National Laboratory.