Author Topic: Circle lightening ?  (Read 2721 times)

oldbike54

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Circle lightening ?
« on: May 28, 2019, 11:18:21 PM »
 Just saw something I've never witnessed before . A bolt of lightening that formed a circle  :shocked: Anyone know what to call this , is it unusual ? Lived in a part of the country that has lots of T storms for 60 years .

 Dusty

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2019, 12:04:29 AM »
You mean ball lightning?

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Moto

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2019, 12:14:40 AM »
Just saw something I've never witnessed before . A bolt of lightening that formed a circle  :shocked: Anyone know what to call this , is it unusual ? Lived in a part of the country that has lots of T storms for 60 years .

 Dusty

Dusty,

Searching for circle lightning (no "e") brings up some possible examples, like:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/lightning-cloud-ground/

and



There is a gap at the bottom of the first example.

I don't remember seeing anything too much like a circle myself.

Moto



Offline Rick in WNY

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2019, 07:23:01 AM »
Pretty sure I've seen that circular lightning before... and no, it's not ball lightning, I've seen that too, and it's completely different.

My take on it... we, human beings, don't know near as much about Mother Nature as we think we do.
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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2019, 07:23:01 AM »

oldbike54

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2019, 08:00:04 AM »
Dusty,

Searching for circle lightning (no "e") brings up some possible examples, like:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/lightning-cloud-ground/

and



There is a gap at the bottom of the first example.

I don't remember seeing anything too much like a circle myself.

Moto

 That is close , it was really brief , started out straight going North to South then formed an almost perfect circle traveling upwards in a clockwise direction , like a lariat , didn't see any cloud to ground energy  . There is an area to the West and slightly South from our porch that is visible thru the trees that seems to always contain a lot of lightning during any approaching storm  . Have timed the flash to sound time , it is about 20 miles , which places it near a small town named Twin Hills . No idea if there is a connection , maybe I should do some research , or maybe not , might be better if it remains a mystery of Mother Nature .

 
Pretty sure I've seen that circular lightning before... and no, it's not ball lightning, I've seen that too, and it's completely different.

My take on it... we, human beings, don't know near as much about Mother Nature as we think we do.

 I agree .

 Dusty

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #5 on: May 29, 2019, 08:11:22 AM »
Those look great, hope to see one in my lifetime (from a distance  :azn:)
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Offline Zoom Zoom

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #6 on: May 29, 2019, 08:52:57 AM »
What you're seeing is an opening in the time/space continuum. The space pirates will be at your door soon. :evil:

John Henry

oldbike54

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #7 on: May 29, 2019, 09:05:08 AM »
What you're seeing is an opening in the time/space continuum. The space pirates will be at your door soon. :evil:

John Henry

 They have already been here , their leader was disappointed , all they found was a slightly scruffy dog with an even scruffier human .

 Dusty

Offline Chuck in Indiana

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #8 on: May 29, 2019, 09:07:07 AM »
I've seen a circular rainbow out the canopy of my airplane.  :thumb:
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Offline Chuck in Indiana

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #9 on: May 29, 2019, 09:08:43 AM »
They have already been here , their leader was disappointed , all they found was a slightly scruffy dog with an even scruffier human .

 Dusty

Whew! Dusty saves the world from invasion..  :bow:
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oldbike54

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #10 on: May 29, 2019, 09:15:28 AM »
Whew! Dusty saves the world from invasion..  :bow:

 You're welcome  :grin:

 One thing that needs to be cleared up , never once did they say "take us to your leader" , apparently they had been watching old episodes of I love Lucy , and thought that her character represented mankind , which is really a fairly accurate observation  :shocked: :huh:

 Dusty

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #11 on: May 29, 2019, 09:40:44 AM »
I have video of lightening that was created by fireworks.  I showed the video to a local t.v. weather station an

d the weather guy said it happens.  He said that the air has to be extremely dry to cause the static electricity to form the lightening. 

oldbike54

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #12 on: May 29, 2019, 10:11:49 AM »
 ^^^That; amazing John .

 Dusty

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #13 on: May 29, 2019, 10:34:52 AM »
When it spells words is when you have to worry, or maybe thats one of them?

Careful for photo shopped stuff...
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oldbike54

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #14 on: May 29, 2019, 10:44:17 AM »
When it spells words is when you have to worry, or maybe thats one of them?

Careful for photo shopped stuff...

 So this morning when I saw the words "Moto Guzzi" in a lightning bolt it was an octopus delusion ?

 Dusty

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #15 on: May 29, 2019, 10:47:24 AM »
Strange weather yesterday.  We had several tornadoes on radar that never materialized in person.   According to radar the storms were headed in my direction but we never got rain, it fact the sun was shining in the incoming direction (the storms did go north).

This is the opposite of the tornados that smashed EL Reno on Saturday, where radar didn't pick up the rotation until the storms quickly formed and hit the ground and disappeared. 

The oddest thing yesterday was helicopter video of the clouds coming from the ground and going into the sky.  The weatherman said the moisture was being drawn from the trees and that he'd never seen that before.

Bev and I put our important papers in the storm cellar, waited for the storms to come, and then went out to enjoy our 42nd Anniversary not late for the reservation. 
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Moto

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #16 on: June 04, 2019, 11:04:31 AM »
How about THIS ONE? A lightning bolt shaped like the state of Wisconsin! Photo taken in Wisconsin Friday night, said to be a message from the late Bart Starr, from The Beyond.



The photographer reported it seemed like a spiral, which makes more sense than an actual circle.

Moto

Source: today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:  https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2019/06/03/wisconsin-shaped-lightning-bolt-captured-amateur-photographer/1333371001/

oldbike54

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #17 on: June 04, 2019, 11:21:10 AM »
How about THIS ONE? A lightning bolt shaped like the state of Wisconsin! Photo taken in Wisconsin Friday night, said to be a message from the late Bart Starr, from The Beyond.



The photographer reported it seemed like a spiral, which makes more sense than an actual circle.

Moto

Source: today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:  https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2019/06/03/wisconsin-shaped-lightning-bolt-captured-amateur-photographer/1333371001/

 That is very similar  :thumb: The entire event only lasted maybe one second , so while it was very distinct , it isn't like I had much to study it . Thanks Moto , first image I've seen of this type of lightening .

 Dusty

Moto

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #18 on: June 04, 2019, 11:42:14 AM »
That is very similar  :thumb: The entire event only lasted maybe one second , so while it was very distinct , it isn't like I had much to study it . Thanks Moto , first image I've seen of this type of lightening .

 Dusty

 :thumb:  "For camera junkies or lightning nerds (or both), Zimmer's photo was taken at F5.6 for 21 seconds, ISO 50."  Could be fun to try this sort of photography.

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #19 on: June 04, 2019, 03:22:27 PM »
 Not too much lightning here just north of the Finger Lakes in NY. Where I grew up near NYC lighning storrms were common in the summer...One time in Colorado Springs years ago I what ever it is that races along power transmission lines like a ball of fire..
  Dusty and others in the tornado zones, does a nasty storm with lightning come before tornados....

oldbike54

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #20 on: June 04, 2019, 04:08:18 PM »
Not too much lightning here just north of the Finger Lakes in NY. Where I grew up near NYC lighning storrms were common in the summer...One time in Colorado Springs years ago I what ever it is that races along power transmission lines like a ball of fire..
  Dusty and others in the tornado zones, does a nasty storm with lightning come before tornados....

 Tony , yes , lightening and high winds always accompany tornadoes , although as one is forming often times the area directly around the funnel becomes eerily calm . Tornadoes are formed by wind shear , where a cold air mass is bumping into a warm air mass , as the two air masses begin swirling around each other the twisting motion results in a spin up .

 Dusty

Offline Chuck in Indiana

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #21 on: June 05, 2019, 09:11:17 AM »
My old friend Paul (RIP) said he was flying a light twin and was hit with St. Elmo's fire. It hit one wing, went through the cockpit, and was gone.  :shocked: No damage.
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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #22 on: June 05, 2019, 09:43:52 AM »
I’m wondering if, because the lightning will take the path of highest conductivity, ie least resistance (not necessarily the shortest), is it just the ionisation of that localised portion of the atmosphere  that renders it visible ?
Higher dust content containing Iron or Carbon in higher quantity than surrounds ?
Without that strike rendering the atmosphere “visible”, we’d never have known it’s characteristics.
An old instructor of mine once said to me...
“If you could see the atmosphere, you’d maybe think twice about flying in it...”
BTW..
He later died by his own hand in a car.....
(I never could get the two concepts to mesh.)

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Re: Circle lightening ?
« Reply #23 on: June 05, 2019, 04:49:40 PM »




MD80s always seemed to attract lightning in flight. I spent many an afternoon burnishing the lesser strikes on the aluminium skin. Bigger ones need drilled out and a rivet installed in the hole with sealant. Big strikes require a patch.  Well, looks like they are an ion magnet on the ground as well.... :grin:   
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