Stargazing Lightning ball - me to analyze this rare video

[Telemachus]

An old friend of mine told me he saw a ball lightning going through the train rails once under a big storm, and it melted the rails before disappearing. He was a blacksmith and worked repairing trains for many years (a really good one). He said that the storm shake the roof of the shed he worked at, and the dust fell. Then he saw it (according to his story). He was an old man, 74 years old. Passed away a few years ago. A very good friend, but some time he had some delirious anecdotical stories, like his sister levitating while dancing and things like that, so I can't say how reliable his story was. Anyway, I thought it could be some astmospherical phenomena.

 

[DarioC]

I have seen ball lightning. It was many years ago and I was coming out of my grade-school graduation, at night, in a very small town in Southern Illinois. There was a large intense thunderstorm with a great deal of lightning, quite close, to the North of us. Suddenly, against the very dark clouds, there appeared two incandescent round images. They proceeded to "squirm" across the dark sky in front of the clouds. They must have been quite large, like 1/2 the area of a dime held at arms length. Lasted maybe 3 seconds and as they made their way the "upper" and lower edges of the balls left a short incandescent track trailing back from both edges. When I say squirmed I mean that that they followed an irregular wiggling path. At least from that distance (maybe a few miles) they seemed to be traveling slowly and only angled a few degrees.

I have seen a lot of lightning and storms since then, but never ball lightning again.
DC

 

[TheOldFart]

Ordinary explanation. I captured a loop of the video from some frames before the object appeared to a few frames afterwards. Go all the way to the top of the clouds above the yellowish building, to that sort of slanted 'V' in the top of the clouds. On the right (more horizontal) leg of the 'V' there's a small notch in the clouds, about 1/4 of the way up from the point of the 'v'

If you look, there's a dark streak that appears to be an insect moving downwards just before the light streak appears, and in pretty much the same direction and velocity.

My internet connection is currently too crappy to post an annotated pic or the video, I can post it tomorrow if anyone needs it but for now just loop over the section from about 7 or 8 frames before the light appears

Combined with the fact that there is no reaction from the guy filming, it seems like it could be just glare off an insect flying into a beam of light. The light seems too pure white and to switch on far too fast to be a firefly. The light of the ball does not illuminate the clouds it appears to come from. External illumination would explain an object rapidly going from dark to full brightness.

It's just a bug.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Thread closed - the solution seems to be a bug. Let's leave it there.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Reopened, some kind of new information is available. However, bickering over whose speculation is wrong or right will definitely close the thread again. IMO, this thread has been an example of why PF is all about discussing peer reviewed Science.

 

[infinitebubble]

https://weather.com/news/news/ball-lightning-seen-first-time-20140120

Why such controversy on this subject? Already proven ball lightning exists and been recorded by scientists?

 

[Toreno]

Hi everyone!

Thank you Jim for reopening the thread. It was just before my vacation when started the thread. After returned to home, it was already closed. Now I am waiting for someone who asked me to reopen the thread. He wanted to share additional material / explanation.

And of course, big thank you for all who replied with their thoughts. Sure, I agree - a bug flying in front of some light or a firefly is the most probable explanation. Especially that the video was recorded on July 16 - it is fireflies activity time.

That was my first thought. However, would anyone react saying "wow" after seeing usual bug? Why the girl behind is asking him "are you all right"? Did she also seen this? Or is it a coincident? If she really seen this, it must be much further from the camera.

On the other hand, if you volume up the video, you will hear a three strikes at the same time. Again, if they are somehow correlated, the event must happened very close.

That is why I was so curious about this video. For now, no better and yet rational explanation but a bug (or firefly).

Cheers,
Toreno

 

[Orodruin]

https://weather.com/news/news/ball-lightning-seen-first-time-20140120

Why such controversy on this subject? Already proven ball lightning exists and been recorded by scientists?

The discussion is not about whether or not the phenomenon exists or not. The question is if the particular video in the OP shows the phenomenon or not - the answer to which should be "inconclusive".

 

[slufoot]

once i wife and friend were sitting in kitchen middle of equipment yard lighting hit 80 foot crane then came out of toaster as a red/gold orb and left the house by opening the screen door 15 ft away.

 

[Davedavedave]

Hello I read that with great attention, after watching the video at 0.25X speed and pause a lot here's what I've found:
Around 0m35 you can clearly see a small dark object falling straight "from the sky" not far from the point of view, then "igniting" and going down on a left curve toward the bottom of the scene (the light changes in size) and it's definitively moving in front of the trees, so it's not a faraway object and appears small in size. Clearly not some sort of lightning.
here's a composite image of the trajectory of the "object"

my take is that it's a firefly or someone threw a cigarette, or something got caught in some light.
(I almost see another similar object falling but not igniting on the right of this object but not sure)

 

[Mike Garrett]

As someone who has actually experienced a ball-lightning strike, I am amazed at how sceptical some people can be. As a twelve-year-old, looking into my garden through the French windows, I watched our chimney land in the garden at the same time as a massive bang. I lived opposite my school and several classmates and a teacher described a 'ball of lightning' that bounced along the tops of several trees before crashing into our chimney. Anybody who has done any arc welding has observed the short-lived little plasma balls that sizzle around during the process. Why are bigger plasma balls so unlikely from the massive wattage created by electrical storms?

 

[Orodruin]

Again, the question is not one of whether ball lightning exists or not. It is whether or not the video in the OP is showing a ball lightning phenomenon.

I also remind you all that this thread has been inactive for almost 4 years.

 

[stefan r]

As someone who has actually experienced a ball-lightning strike, I am amazed at how sceptical some people can be. As a twelve-year-old, looking into my garden through the French windows, I watched our chimney land in the garden at the same time as a massive bang. I lived opposite my school and several classmates and a teacher described a 'ball of lightning' that bounced along the tops of several trees before crashing into our chimney. Anybody who has done any arc welding has observed the short-lived little plasma balls that sizzle around during the process. Why are bigger plasma balls so unlikely from the massive wattage created by electrical storms?

I had a welder certificate. The balls that bounce around are made of steel and/or slag.