Ball Lightning and UFOs.

**karl 12** · 05-13-2010, 09:23 AM

BALL LIGHTNING does not look like "lightning." Instead, it usually appears as a mysterious glowing sphere which drifts horizontally through the air. It is typically the size of a grapefruit, but sometimes appears as small as a pea, or as large as a bus. It sometime hovers at a few feet or tens of feet altitude, but can also bounce along the ground. It usually lasts only a few seconds, but sometimes persists much longer.
Link

Does Ball lightning account for some UFO sightings?

The phenomenon itself appears to be a pretty controversial one within mainstream science but it refers to luminous, (mostly) spherical objects which vary in size and 'move up, down, sideways or in unpredictable trajectories' - some ball lightning accounts also describe it moving through solid masses of wood or metal without effect and other witnesses report a strange smell like ozone or burning sulphur.

There are some pretty remarkable interviews in the Arthur C. Clarke documentary below with people who claim to have experienced ball lightning and some of their observations do share certain characteristics with UFO testimony:

Interviews at 7:25

Followed on here:

Description:

Visual sightings are often accompanied by sound, odor, and other natural and unnatural phenomenon. Most are accompanied by a loud humming. Sometimes ball lightnings are reported to emit a hissing sound. Many observers report a distinctive odor accompanying ball lightning. The odor is usually described as sharp and repugnant, resembling ozone, burning sulphur, or nitric oxide.
Many eyewitness accounts describe its movement as having the characteristics of an intelligence guiding it. It often enters structures through windows or doors, though it seems to have no difficulty passing through solid walls. It travels down hallways and up and down stairs and other lines of logical access and egress within structures. It pauses at objects and living things as though observing them. It has been described as similar to remote reconnaissance drones portrayed in science fiction movies.
A diameter of 6-18 inches is the most common size, although reports range from ½ inch up to 50 feet in width. They are luminous and spherical in shape and come in a rainbow of colors, often changing color many times during a single event. They do not seem to do a great deal of harm, although in their exits, they sometimes explode which can cause damage. They have even been sighted in aircraft flying in clear skies and on marine vessels without a cloud in sight.

Reports

Articles:

A Social History of Ball Lightning. Martin Shough

Unfriendly Fire - Ball Lightning and UFOs

Spectre in the sky - The evidence for ball lightning

***SOUL-DRIFTER*** · 05-13-2010, 10:00 AM

I once saw ball lightning. A strange phenomena indeed.

**karl 12** · 05-13-2010, 12:18 PM

Have never seen it myself bud but there's a pretty freaky account described here from on board an aircraft in 1963 where a professor and an air stewardess witnessed a 'perfectly symmetrical glowing white blue sphere' emerge from the pilot's cabin and travel down the aisle of the aircraft before disappearing out through the toilet compartment!

**Castle-Bravo354** · 05-13-2010, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by SOUL-DRIFTER

I once saw ball lightning. A strange phenomena indeed.

SD...I saw it once as well. It had me wondering until I read about ball lightning. I'd say yes....it could easily be confused.

**karl 12** · 05-13-2010, 04:02 PM

There's an interesting National Geographic article here on ball lightning but I think the first sentence just about sums it up.

"There's certainly no consensus. I don't think that anyone knows what it is," said Graham K. Hubler, a physicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C...

While some skeptics remain, there is significant observational evidence for ball lightning's existence.

"There are around 10,000 written accounts of observations covering many countries with similar properties recurring in many observations," said John Abrahamson, a professor of chemistry at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.

"All this points to a phenomenon which is repeatable and justifies a single label."

Thousands of eyewitnesses have described seeing a floating, glowing ball similar to a tennis ball or even a beach ball..

Link

***SOUL-DRIFTER*** · 05-13-2010, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by karl 12

Have never seen it myself bud but there's a pretty freaky account described here from on board an aircraft in 1963 where a professor and an air stewardess witnessed a 'perfectly symmetrical glowing white blue sphere' emerge from the pilot's cabin and travel down the aisle of the aircraft before disappearing out through the toilet compartment!

I read that account years ago. And that is one of the funny things about it, it seems it can sometimes appear inside of buildings as well.

My grandmother said she saw one as she looked out the train she rode in years ago. It was just after a thunderstorm and it was a ball of light that hopped from fence post to fense post that boarded a farmer's field.

I do wonder how ball lightening can form inside a airplane as described. It is surrounded by metal...? Perhaps some, are not ball lightning as we assume them to be...

***LocalHero*** · 05-13-2010, 06:36 PM

I've read a few accounts of ball lightening going through walls, I'm sure there were some stories of it happening in subs in WWII.

Very weird indeed.

**Castle-Bravo354** · 05-14-2010, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by LocalHero

I've read a few accounts of ball lightening going through walls, I'm sure there were some stories of it happening in subs in WWII.

lh...do you have any information indicating them passing through WW2 subs?....

***LocalHero*** · 05-14-2010, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by Castle-Bravo354

lh...do you have any information indicating them passing through WW2 subs?....

It was a while back I read it, whilst I can't find the exact place I read it here are a couple of links that mention them being on subs, I can't quite find the one that says it passed through though, apologies for that.

Ball Lightning

Ball lightning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Castle-Bravo354** · 05-14-2010, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by LocalHero

It was a while back I read it, whilst I can't find the exact place I read it here are a couple of links that mention them being on subs, I can't quite find the one that says it passed through though, apologies for that.

Ball Lightning

Ball lightning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

lh....thanks...hope you don't mind my asking....it just seemed a bit odd.