Glowing Ball of Light in Sky Puzzles Scientists
SAN FRANCISCO — Scientists admit they’re puzzled by a mysterious glowing ball of light traveling 1/100th the speed of light that was spotted--and even videotaped--in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Brief footage of the image, which appeared for about 3/100th of a second at an estimated height of 80 kilometers, was presented publicly for the first time at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
In a six-frame sequence, the object can clearly be seen crossing upward and left across the field of view, while retaining its shape and intense glow.
“It’s the first and only event of this kind photographed to my knowledge,†said Dr. Dean A. Morss, assistant professor of atmospheric sciences at Creighton University in Nebraska. Morss is heading a research project designed to videotape luminous electrical phenomena, called sprites, in the upper atmosphere.
Scientists were observing a region of thunderstorm activity in western Kansas from a ground observation point in Nebraska when the mystery ball appeared. Navy Lt. Paul McCrone, a graduate student at Creighton, videotaped the image on Aug. 22, using equipment on loan to the university from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
