Is ball lightning real?
Learn about the mysterious phenomenon of ball lightning.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Time lapse of clouds followed by a thunderstorm.
-
Adapted from NASAAs demonstrated by the animation, lightning activity year-round is greatest over continental areas in the tropics, particularly in South America, Africa, and Australasia. Lightning strikes in the higher latitudes rise during the spring and summer months (May–September in the Northern Hemisphere and November–March in the Southern Hemisphere).
-
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, MainzLearn about lightning and thunder.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Why do these storms start popping up in summer?
Transcript
WTFact: Is Ball Lightning Real?
Sometimes there is no rational explanation.
Over 200 years ago, the crew of the HMS Warren Hastings reported being attacked by giant balls of fire from the sky.
Allegedly, the balls of fire set the ship on fire and killed several people.
But what were these mysterious fireballs? And more importantly, were they even real?
Today the fireballs those frightened seamen may have seen are called ball lightning.
Floating balls of light appear in folklore and myths across cultures and across time.
Some have rational explanations behind them.
The light of will-o’-the-wisps in English folklore, originally interpreted as mischievous fairies, was likely a chemical reaction from organic decay in swamps.
And the Min Min lights sighted in the Australian Outback are probably mirages of artificial lights projected across long distances.
But ball lightning has eluded explanation.
According to people who have seen it, ball lightning is a hissing orb of lightning that appears during thunderstorms.
It is often colored red, orange, yellow, or blue, and it smells like sulfur.
Despite sightings of ball lightning across the world and across history,
there is little photo or video evidence of the phenomenon.
Lab attempts to recreate and explain ball lightning are promising but not entirely successful.
Some researchers question whether ball lightning exists at all.
But the myriad firsthand sightings are hard to ignore. In this age of nearly ubiquitous cameras, hopefully ball lightning won’t escape further study for long.
Sometimes there is no rational explanation.
Over 200 years ago, the crew of the HMS Warren Hastings reported being attacked by giant balls of fire from the sky.
Allegedly, the balls of fire set the ship on fire and killed several people.
But what were these mysterious fireballs? And more importantly, were they even real?
Today the fireballs those frightened seamen may have seen are called ball lightning.
Floating balls of light appear in folklore and myths across cultures and across time.
Some have rational explanations behind them.
The light of will-o’-the-wisps in English folklore, originally interpreted as mischievous fairies, was likely a chemical reaction from organic decay in swamps.
And the Min Min lights sighted in the Australian Outback are probably mirages of artificial lights projected across long distances.
But ball lightning has eluded explanation.
According to people who have seen it, ball lightning is a hissing orb of lightning that appears during thunderstorms.
It is often colored red, orange, yellow, or blue, and it smells like sulfur.
Despite sightings of ball lightning across the world and across history,
there is little photo or video evidence of the phenomenon.
Lab attempts to recreate and explain ball lightning are promising but not entirely successful.
Some researchers question whether ball lightning exists at all.
But the myriad firsthand sightings are hard to ignore. In this age of nearly ubiquitous cameras, hopefully ball lightning won’t escape further study for long.