Mystery of Earthquake Lights revealed

Its appearance is often mistaken as a UFO, or even hallucinations. Recently, geologists collect almost definitive list of related rare phenomenon that is still a mystery and debate among the scientists, the 'earthquake light'.

Several types of earthquakes in specific areas can trigger flashes of light that occur happen a few seconds. Even days, before the earthquake. Sign of the earthquake. Many forms of floating orbs of lights, blue columns that seemed to come out of the Earth, or otherwise shape of lightning-from the ground to the sky.

Scientists are still unsure why more earthquake light events are related to rift environments than other types of faults. However, they believe they can help warn of earthquakes in the future. (Picture from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)

A study in the Seismological Research Letters scientific journal shows, a earthquake light associated with the earthquake type of area in which certain geological formations occur. Although this phenomenon is rare, scientists have documented 65 occurrences since 1600.

Mysterious floating orbs of lights are harbingers of an imminent earthquake, scientists claim. These lights were seen before the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China. (Picture from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)

Including those occurring on earthquake in L' Aquila, Italy in 2009. Shortly before the earth shook, the pedestrians witnessing a bright light like a flame float 4 inches above the pavement Francesco Crispi Avenue, in the historic city center.

In Pisco, Peru, a Marine look pale blue columns of light that pops up four times in a row from the water on August 15, 2007, when an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale occurred. CCTV cameras in the town also catch the light sightings.

Meanwhile, on November 12, 1988, the purple mixed with pink light ball moving in the sky above the St. Lawrence river, near Quebec City, Canada 11 days before the devastating earthquake rocked.

On April 18, 1906, the blue light hovering in the base of the foothills west of San Francisco, just before the devastating earthquake occurred. In the south of the city, in San Jose, a segment of the course seemed to be lit in a faint but beautiful like a rainbow of colors.

"The mechanism that causes this phenomenon only occurs under certain conditions and rare," said Friedemann Freund, a professor of physics from San Jose State University and senior scientist with the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, as quoted by USA Today, on January 2, 2013.

Continental rift environments now appear to be the common factor associated with earthquake lights. This image of an earthquake light was taken in El Salvador. (Picture from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)

Rocks such as basalt and gabbro, which formed deep in the Earth's mantle, has a small defect in the crystal. When rocks such great pressure, the defect produces an electrical charge. "When seismic waves propagate through the ground and hit the rock layers, pressing rock with strong and fast pressure, creating the conditions in which a large number of positive and negative electrical charge is created," says Professor Freund. The power can move simultaneously, achieving a condition called plasma, which could 'explode' out and radiate into the air.

The other components are needed to form a earthquake light produced naturally, is a vertical fracture deep in the earth's crust - that it could reach 60 miles or 96 kilometers, even more. Magma that solidifies into a gabbro or basalt rising from cracks in it, forming a thick pile of similar dykes tens to hundreds of meters.

"We speculate that the stack behaves like a funnel, concentrating the electric charge to be a solid ionized plasma," said Robert Theriault, team leader of the study and a geologist at Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources, Canada. "When plasma burst into the air, it will produce light," he added.

Less than 0.5 percent of earthquakes around the world occur in the proper location for the occurrence of the earthquake light. The scientists combed data from historical documents, some written by hand and in Latin, from centuries ago. They also look for the modern scientific papers and recording of CCTV cameras which record the time of earthquake.

Theriault admitted, the earthquake light sometimes mistaken as a UFO. In the early 1970s, Jim Conacher was boating with his wife in Tagish Lake in the Yukon, Canada. They watched the yellow floating orbs of lights on the side of the mountain. The floating orbs of lights was slowly drifting up the mountain merge with one another. Conacher photographing the light appearance, the picture later appeared on Internet sites, is regarded as UFO sightings in Canada.

When scientists study the seismic data, they found records of earthquakes in Cross Sound on July 1, 1973, with a strength of 6.7 on the Richter scale. Also there is an aftershock with a magnitude of 5.2 and 4.1 on the Richter scale. Although the witnesses, Conacher and his wife had died and could not be asked about exactly when they are boating fun, the scientists believe that the light appeared a few hours before the earthquake.

Based on the record, an area where the earthquake light occurred including in Italy, Greece, and the Rhine fault - which runs between France and Germany, are also a number of areas in South America. And China. Theriault said, although the earthquake light not common to be used as an early warning, but can function like that.

This is one of them, before the earthquake in L' Aquila, a man saw a very bright flash of light in daylight. The light was just a few seconds. Because he had been reading about the earthquake light, he decided to bring his family to a safer place. And they survived.

Theriault also knew a geologist in Canada who lived in China in 1976. On July 28 the same year, he saw an earthquake light. Then, he quickly left the house. Sure enough, not long after the Tangshan devastating earthquake happened, which killed hundreds of thousands of people - an estimated 240 thousand to 650 thousand inhabitants. But the geologist survived. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DAILY MAIL]

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