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The video in this article comes as a relief. When I was a teenager, sitting in the backseat of my parents car I saw something exactly like that. Nobody else saw
by thret 9y ago
The video in this article comes as a relief. When I was a teenager, sitting in the backseat of my parents car I saw something exactly like that. Nobody else saw it; there were no reports of a meteorite, and I always worried that it was a dream I was unable to separate from reality. I am sure now that I've seen ball lightning.
- therealab 9y agoSorry, but if you slow the video to 0.25x and watch closely, you can see it's a firefly :P
- thesagan 9y agoI saw it too, it starts as a dark dot at the top of the cloud.
- kmill 9y ago1. How do you know it's a firefly? It's just a bright spot. 2. The diameter of the ball increases dramatically, as if it originates from the clouds. 3. It seems to disappear behind the trees, suggesting it is far away. This isn't to say that it isn't a firefly; I just have no idea how you can be so sure.
- doobiedowner 9y agoWatch it at 1080, you'll see.... Or ball lightning starts off as a black blob.
- randlet 9y agoI'm pretty convinced it's a firefly after watching the video frame by frame. Go to the YT video, set it 1080p and pause at 36s. Then go frame by frame (use ',' and '.' to go back/forth by a single frame) and you can see it appear as a dark blob, that comes down, eventually lighting up, then contrary to your point 3 it actually goes in front of the trees.
- kmill 9y agoI did go frame by frame myself earlier. The fact that it starts as a dark blob is pretty good evidence for it being a firefly, and I think I saw it earlier as part of the dramatic increase in diameter, but I can't see it that way right now. For me it's hard to tell whether it "actually" goes in front of or behind the trees. I was thinking if it were bright enough it could fade as it descends behind the treeline. It would be a rather large firefly if it went behind the trees, though.
- KallDrexx 9y agoI didn't notice it until you said it but now even at full speed it's obvious. You can see it fly in before it starts glowing.
- King-Aaron 9y agoAnecdotally, I've seen something sort of similar too. When I was younger, I recall a massive electrical storm that came across our house. The tree against the wall got struck, splitting it in half. I was in the hallway when it happened, and immediately tripped the power out. Though directly after the initial flash that illuminated the whole house, there was this weird echoey persistence of light and sound, and both myself and my Dad could see this ball of light jumping between the light sockets along the roof for several seconds. Sort of the same effect you see when you catch a glimpse of the sun, then blink after and see the persistence of the suns shape in your field of vision. About half a second after each 'jump' it made a really loud crackling sound, and each globe was toast afterwards. It was really strange, and Dad put it down to ball lightning. Though it's not something we often discuss because of the uncertainty around the topic in general. I often dismiss it as one of those 'maybe I remember it wrong because I was so young'.