5 ms·
Nobody seems to have considered a biological explanation. What about a tide of bioluminescent bacteria or algae? Typically these emit blue light and are known,
by Blahah 12y ago
Nobody seems to have considered a biological explanation.
What about a tide of bioluminescent bacteria or algae? Typically these emit blue light and are known, in the case of bacteria, as the 'milky seas effect'[0]. But algal tides sometimes bioluminesce red or orange. With a high local concentration of nitrogen or another limiting nutrient (which might upswell from the seabed due seismic activity below) you might get extremely high concentrations leading to the patterns shown in the photograph.
0: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_seas_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_seas_effect
- grmarcil 12y agoOne of the commenters on his site mentioned bioluminescence. It seems unlikely to me that such an effect could produce the intensity of light required to project the pattern he saw onto clouds at 30k+ feet though.
- Blahah 12y agoI thought the light in the sky was well explained by the seismic phenomenon.
- xsace 12y agoIf it was something natural, people (pilots) would be used to it by now. He's describing something "unknown and creepy"
- Blahah 12y agoNatural does not mean common. It's just as likely that it's an uncommon biological phenomenon as it is as uncommon physical phenomenon.
- colanderman 12y agoDoesn't explain the explosion beforehand.