# Ball lightning > Ball lightning is a luminous sphere reported during thunderstorms that floats or drifts for seconds and then goes out, decays or explodes. Thousands of… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-27T17:47:08+00:00 --- **MYS** 0D40A0KP2QRS·Mystery · sighting # Ball lightning **0** [Follow][Ask a question](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=ball-lightning) Ball lightning ![Photograph: Ball lightning](https://mysteriesdept.com/media/folio/ball-lightning-lead) Unknown author · Public domain What Luminous ball seen during thunderstorms, lasting seconds⁠[[2]] Published reports About 5,000⁠[[1]] Frequency Reported in a 1966 survey nearly as often as nearby cloud-to-ground strokes⁠[[2]] Instrumental record One natural event: Qinghai Plateau, China, July 2012, two slitless spectrographs at 0.9 km⁠[[5]] Spectrum Lines of silicon, iron and calcium throughout its life⁠[[4]] Optical power About 4.2 kW (400–690 nm) for most of its life⁠[[6]] Status Partly explained Questions 0 of 4 answered People [**John Abrahamson** Co-author of the vaporised-silicon model](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/people/FIG0D40A22J7KTP/john-abrahamson)[**Warren D. Rayle** NASA Lewis Research Center; author of the 1966 survey](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/people/FIG0D40A2AC2E3N/warren-d-rayle)[**Alexander G. Keul** Researcher matching ball-lightning reports with lightning networks](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/people/FIG0D40A2J667H6/alexander-g-keul)[**Ping Yuan** Physicist, Northwest Normal University; led the team that recorded the 2012 ball](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/people/FIG0D40A1TR3XSG/ping-yuan) Catalog key**MYS** 0D40A0KP2QRS Ball lightning is the name for luminous spheres reported during thunderstorms, often near the ground and sometimes indoors, that drift, hover or roll for a few seconds before fading or bursting. The reports go back centuries and now number about 5,000⁠[[1]]. A survey of NASA staff in 1966 found it reported nearly as often as seeing ordinary lightning strike nearby, and collected 112 detailed descriptions⁠[[2]]. Yet for most of that history there was no instrumental record, and some physicists doubted it was a physical object at all⁠[[3]]. In July 2012 a team from Northwest Normal University in Lanzhou, running spectrographs on the Qinghai Plateau to study ordinary lightning, recorded a ball that formed where a cloud-to-ground stroke hit about 900 m away⁠[[4]]. Its spectrum showed lines of silicon, iron and calcium for its whole life of about a second or more, the signature expected if lightning had vaporised soil⁠[[5]]⁠[[4]]. Later analyses of the same data estimated a luminous power of about 4 kW and temperatures that differ by element, from about 2,700 K in the continuum to about 8,750 K in oxygen lines⁠[[6]]⁠[[7]]. That record supports the best-known conventional model, in which a strike vaporises silica in the soil and the resulting silicon nanoparticles glow as they oxidise⁠[[8]]. It does not settle the question. It is one event, observed from a distance, and other models predict different things: microwaves trapped in a plasma bubble⁠[[9]], chemiluminescent plasmoids of the kind made over water in the laboratory⁠[[10]], or perceptual effects of lightning's electromagnetic pulses⁠[[3]]. Recent work matches eyewitness reports against lightning-location networks to see whether balls form where strokes land⁠[[11]]⁠[[1]]. Of the 4 questions on this site, 0 are answered. The most likely answer to “Is ball lightning a physical object, distinct from afterimages, hallucinations and misperceived ordinary lightning?”, not yet confirmed: ball lightning is a physical luminous object produced in or near thunderstorms. ### Key questionsset by the editors [**Is ball lightning a physical object, distinct from afterimages, hallucinations and misperceived ordinary lightning?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/questions/QST0D40A5846ZE5/is-ball-lightning-a-physical-object-distinct-from)Most likely: ball lightning is a physical luminous object produced in or near thunderstorms [**What forms and powers ball lightning?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/questions/QST0D40A5FY652V/what-forms-and-powers-ball-lightning)Most likely: lightning vaporises soil silica; silicon nanoparticle networks glow as they slowly oxidise [All 4 questions ](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=ball-lightning) ## What happened [![First page of NASA Technical Note D-3188, Ball lightning characteristics](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/64cc90a97ad9f9c279ebffd61dc594c37bc3ddb061425dc13b4a9e3e2a1cfc1f/p1)44 pages](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/artifacts/ART0D40AKN24RCE/nasa-technical-note-d-3188-ball-lightning-characteristics) NASA Technical Note D-3188, Ball lightning characteristicsWarren D. Rayle, NASA Lewis Research Center, 1966. Public domain[Artifact ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/artifacts/ART0D40AKN24RCE/nasa-technical-note-d-3188-ball-lightning-characteristics) The phenomenon is defined by its reports. In the 1966 NASA survey, balls had a log-normal distribution of diameters and no strong correlation between brightness, size, duration and colour; Rayle tentatively separated two kinds, one that appears after a stroke to ground and stays near the ground, and one first seen in mid-air that vanishes without disturbance⁠[[2]]. Statistical work on the large Russian SKB data bank of eyewitness reports finds lifetime related to diameter for balls that explode or decay, but not for those that simply go out⁠[[12]]. The standard reviews and monographs set out these regularities and the range of reported behaviour, including appearances inside buildings and aircraft⁠[[13]]⁠[[14]]⁠[[15]]. **Map of the world** [Open the full map](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/map) [Region][World] [+][−] 1 **Lanzhou group's lightning observation site, Datong County, Qinghai** Field observation site (about 2,530 m) Within 1 km 2 **Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Switzerland** Region A region 3 **Pruno, Stazzema, Tuscany** Hamlet Within 1 km 4 **NASA Lewis Research Center (now Glenn Research Center), Cleveland, Ohio** Research centre Within 1 km Within 1 kmA regionNatural Earth ### Timeline **Timeline** Squeezed where little happened. Each mark is a published claim, by how it stands:AcceptedMost likelyStill possibleDisputedRuled out ## The accounts Most of the evidence is testimony, collected by surveys, by national databases, and more recently by websites that ask witnesses for times and locations accurate enough to compare with lightning data⁠[[2]]⁠[[1]]. In central Europe, 34 cases from 1994 to 2016 were matched with the EUCLID lightning-location network; in the close cases a cloud-to-ground stroke lay on average 0.42 km from the reported ball, and higher peak currents went with shorter distances⁠[[11]]. In the United States, 31 reports from a defunct website were compared with the National Lightning Detection Network and radar; three of nine well-located reports had plausible nearby strikes, but for the best-located case the nearest strike was 2.3 km away⁠[[1]]⁠[[16]]. ## What was recorded The Qinghai event of July 2012 is the only natural ball lightning with spectra. Two slitless spectrographs with high-speed cameras, set up to record ordinary lightning, caught a ball that appeared after a cloud-to-ground stroke 0.9 km away and moved horizontally while it glowed⁠[[5]]. The recorded glow was about 5 m across, though the ball itself was smaller; it drifted about 10 m and rose about 3 m, changing from white to reddish⁠[[4]]. The spectrum, in the 400–1000 nm range, showed silicon, iron and calcium for the whole lifetime; aluminium, expected from soil, has no lines in that range⁠[[4]]. Re-analysis found the light stable but with a periodic oscillation carried by the nitrogen and oxygen lines, and mean temperatures of about 8,750 K from oxygen, 4,330 K from silicon, 4,600 K from iron and 2,700 K from the continuum⁠[[7]]. The luminous intensity peaked at about 1.24 × 10⁵ cd and was about 5.9 × 10⁴ cd for most of its life, with about 4.2 kW of optical power⁠[[6]]. An earlier video of a probable ball in Italy was analysed photometrically but without spectra⁠[[17]]. Laboratory analogues reproduce parts of the picture. Arc discharges into silicon wafers make luminous balls that last seconds⁠[[18]]; microwaves focused into silicates eject buoyant fireballs⁠[[19]]; and discharges over water make plasmoids up to 0.2 m across lasting a few hundred milliseconds, lit mainly by calcium hydroxide emission⁠[[10]]. None matches every reported property. ## The explanations Burning soil vapour. Abrahamson and Dinniss proposed that a strike on soil vaporises silica, carbon reduces it to silicon, and the vapour condenses into nanoparticle networks that oxidise slowly, giving light and heat for seconds⁠[[8]]. It is supported by the silicon, iron and calcium lines in the Qinghai spectrum, by the ball's origin at a ground strike, and by the silicon-arc experiments⁠[[5]]⁠[[18]]. Reports of balls inside aircraft, which rival models set out to explain, are hard to reconcile with a soil source⁠[[9]]. Trapped microwaves. Wu's model has a relativistic electron bunch at the stroke tip generate microwaves that ionise air and are trapped in a plasma bubble; particle simulations support the mechanism, and the model is claimed to cover appearances in aircraft and indoors⁠[[9]]. It predicts a microwave signature, which no observation has yet recorded. Chemical plasmoids. The water-discharge plasmoids show that long-lived luminous balls can be made from a discharge over a wet surface, with light from chemical reactions⁠[[10]]. Perception. Peer and Kendl proposed that lightning's magnetic pulses could induce phosphenes in observers' visual cortex, explaining many reports without any object⁠[[3]]. Their corrected figures confine this to strikes within metres, or about 50 m for short pulses, which limits the reading to a subset of cases⁠[[3]]. It cannot account for the Qinghai recording or for balls seen by several people or on video. Exotic physics, from dark-matter nuggets to magnetic monopoles, has also been proposed without observational tests⁠[[20]]. ### Published claims **Published claims and their status** | Year | Who | Claimed | Status | Reason | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1966 | Warren D. Rayle (NASA Lewis Research Center)⁠[2] | Ball lightning is reported about as often as seeing ordinary lightning strike nearby, and the reports fall into two rough kinds. | Accepted | Later surveys and data banks find the same frequency and the same statistical regularities⁠[12]⁠[14]. | | 1969 | Roger Jennison⁠[21] | A glowing sphere about 20 cm across drifted down the aisle of the airliner he was travelling on in 1963, after a lightning discharge. | Still possible | A single account by a physicist; it is the standard aircraft case that soil-vapour models struggle to explain⁠[9]. | | 1995 | Anvar Amirov and Vladimir Bychkov⁠[12] | In the Russian SKB data bank, a ball's lifetime rises with its diameter for balls that explode or decay, but not for those that simply go out. | Accepted | A statistical result on the largest report bank, not challenged since, though the bank itself is not public⁠[12]. | | 1999 | Mark Stenhoff⁠[14] | Ball lightning is a real atmospheric phenomenon with no accepted explanation. | Accepted | The 2012 instrumental record confirmed a physical ball, and no model yet covers every reported property⁠[5]⁠[15]. | | 2000 | John Abrahamson and James Dinniss⁠[8] | Lightning vaporises silica in soil, and the silicon nanoparticles that condense glow for seconds as they slowly oxidise. | Most likely | The only natural spectrum shows silicon, iron and calcium, but indoor and aircraft reports are hard to fit to a soil source⁠[5]⁠[9]. | | 2006 | Vladimir Dikhtyar and Eli Jerby⁠[19] | Microwaves focused into silicates eject buoyant fireballs from the molten hot spot, a laboratory analogue of ball lightning. | Accepted | A reproducible laboratory result; whether it resembles natural ball lightning is a separate question⁠[19]. | | 2007 | Gerson Paiva and colleagues⁠[18] | Arc discharges into silicon wafers make luminous balls that last seconds, as the silicon model predicts. | Accepted | A laboratory demonstration consistent with the Qinghai spectrum, though the balls are smaller and shorter-lived than most reports⁠[18]. | | 2008 | A. Versteegh and colleagues⁠[10] | Discharges over water make plasmoids up to 0.2 m across, lit mainly by calcium hydroxide, which may explain some ball lightning. | Still possible | The plasmoids are real but live a few hundred milliseconds, well short of most reports, and no natural spectrum shows their bands⁠[10]. | | 2010 | Josef Peer and Alexander Kendl⁠[3] | Lightning's magnetic pulses can induce phosphenes in the brain, so many ball-lightning reports may involve no object at all. | Disputed | Their own erratum cut the induced fields tenfold, confining the effect to strikes within metres, and a ball has since been recorded by instruments⁠[3]⁠[5]. | | 2011 | Stefano Sello and Paolo Viviani⁠[17] | A video made at Pruno, Italy, in June 2010 shows a ball lightning, on photometric and dynamical analysis. | Still possible | The analysis is careful but has no spectrum, so the object cannot be identified with certainty⁠[17]. | | 2014 | Jianyong Cen, Ping Yuan and Simin Xue⁠[5] | A ball recorded at 0.9 km after a ground stroke on the Qinghai Plateau emitted lines of silicon, iron and calcium throughout its life. | Accepted | Three later analyses of the same data agree on the soil-element reading⁠[6]⁠[7]. | | 2016 | Hui-Chun Wu⁠[9] | Microwaves made by relativistic electrons at the stroke tip are trapped in a plasma bubble, which explains balls inside aircraft and buildings. | Still possible | Supported by simulation only; its predicted microwave burst has never been measured⁠[9]. | | 2018 | Alexander Keul and Gerhard Diendorfer⁠[11] | Matched against the EUCLID lightning network, European ball-lightning reports lie on average 0.42 km from a cloud-to-ground stroke. | Still possible | A US match found the best-located report 2.3 km from any strike, so the two network studies point different ways⁠[1]. | | 2020 | Richard Sonnenfeld, Karl Stephan and colleagues⁠[1] | Matched against the US lightning network, the best-located ball-lightning report had no strike closer than 2.3 km. | Still possible | Only nine reports were well located, too few to separate a stroke origin from a storm-field one⁠[16]. | | 2022 | Tingting An, Ping Yuan and colleagues⁠[7] | The Qinghai ball's temperature differed by element, about 8,750 K in oxygen lines and 4,300 to 4,600 K in silicon and iron lines. | Accepted | Derived from the published spectra and consistent with a burning cloud of soil vapour around a hotter core⁠[7]. | | 2025 | Ariel Zhitnitsky⁠[20] | Ball lightning is triggered by dark-matter particles of the axion quark nugget type. | Disputed | No observation calls for new physics, and the one recorded spectrum shows ordinary soil elements⁠[5]. | ## What would settle it More instrumental records, with spectra, from different settings. Lightning research sites that already run spectrographs and high-speed cameras are the likeliest source; a second spectrum, especially from a ball away from soil or indoors, would test whether one mechanism covers all cases. A microwave receiver co-located with such cameras would test the microwave model. Statistically, a large set of well-located reports matched against lightning-location networks with a proper null (random times and places during storms) would show whether balls form at stroke points or merely near storms. ## Questions 0 of 4 questions are answered. **Key questions** [All 4](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=ball-lightning) **0** [Is ball lightning a physical object, distinct from afterimages, hallucinations and misperceived ordinary lightning?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/questions/QST0D40A5846ZE5/is-ball-lightning-a-physical-object-distinct-from) 0 of 0 sub-questions answered·0 Most likely: ball lightning is a physical luminous object produced in or near thunderstorms **0** [What forms and powers ball lightning?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/questions/QST0D40A5FY652V/what-forms-and-powers-ball-lightning) 0 of 2 sub-questions answered·0 Most likely: lightning vaporises soil silica; silicon nanoparticle networks glow as they slowly oxidise ## Evidence 26 findings [Is ball lightning a physical object, distinct from afterimages, hallucinations and misperceived ordinary lightning?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/questions/QST0D40A5846ZE5/is-ball-lightning-a-physical-object-distinct-from)7 findings [Ball lightning is a physical luminous object produced in or near thunderstorms.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40A67C1C9Q/ball-lightning-is-a-physical-luminous-object-produced-in-or)Most likely +[Two spectrographs with high-speed cameras recorded a ball for about a second after a ground stroke at 0.9 km.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A6F64B1S/two-spectrographs-with-high-speed-cameras-recorded-a-ball)Supported +[A video of a probable ball was analysed photometrically in Italy.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A6Q02MNA/a-video-of-a-probable-ball-was-analysed-photometrically-in)Suggestive +[Surveys find reports nearly as frequent as nearby cloud-to-ground strokes, with consistent statistical regularities.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A6YT6D4B/surveys-find-reports-nearly-as-frequent-as-nearby-cloud-to)Suggestive [Most or all reports are phosphenes or afterimages caused by lightning, not objects.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40A76M1VDG/most-or-all-reports-are-phosphenes-or-afterimages-caused-by)Disputed +[Long repetitive discharges can induce magnetic fields comparable to transcranial stimulation near the strike.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A7EE6Z6P/long-repetitive-discharges-can-induce-magnetic-fields)Speculative −[The authors' correction shows induced fields are more than ten times smaller, reaching thresholds only within metres or about 50 m for short pulses.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A7P80PN6/the-authors-correction-shows-induced-fields-are-more-than)Supported −[The 2012 ball was recorded by instruments at 0.9 km.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A7Y25N42/the-2012-ball-was-recorded-by-instruments-at-0-9-km)Supported [A physical phenomenon exists, but a large fraction of reports are perceptual or misidentified.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40A85W4T0P/a-physical-phenomenon-exists-but-a-large-fraction-of-reports)Most likely +[Rayle tentatively separated two categories of report, near-ground after strokes and mid-air.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A8DP1T7E/rayle-tentatively-separated-two-categories-of-report-near)Suggestive [What forms and powers ball lightning?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/questions/QST0D40A5FY652V/what-forms-and-powers-ball-lightning)9 findings [Lightning vaporises soil silica; silicon nanoparticle networks glow as they slowly oxidise.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40A8XA3AZP/lightning-vaporises-soil-silica-silicon-nanoparticle)Most likely +[The 2012 spectrum shows Si, Fe and Ca lines throughout the ball's life.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A9543S6J/the-2012-spectrum-shows-si-fe-and-ca-lines-throughout-the)Supported +[Arc discharges into silicon produce luminous balls lasting seconds.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A9CY4E98/arc-discharges-into-silicon-produce-luminous-balls-lasting)Supported +[Microwave-heated silicates eject buoyant fireballs, which the authors relate to the silicon model.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A9MR60RV/microwave-heated-silicates-eject-buoyant-fireballs-which-the)Suggestive −[Balls reported inside aircraft are hard to reconcile with a soil source.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40A9WJ09GT/balls-reported-inside-aircraft-are-hard-to-reconcile-with-a)Suggestive [Microwaves generated at the stroke tip are trapped in a self-made plasma bubble.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40AA4C22YQ/microwaves-generated-at-the-stroke-tip-are-trapped-in-a-self)Still possible +[Particle simulations reproduce a stable radiation-filled plasma bubble.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40AAC61G20/particle-simulations-reproduce-a-stable-radiation-filled)Suggestive −[The only recorded spectrum is dominated by soil elements.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40AAM01N3S/the-only-recorded-spectrum-is-dominated-by-soil-elements)Suggestive [A chemically sustained plasmoid formed by a discharge into a wet or mineral surface.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40AAVT67P7/a-chemically-sustained-plasmoid-formed-by-a-discharge-into-a)Still possible +[Water-discharge plasmoids last hundreds of milliseconds and emit mainly CaOH bands.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40AB3M2EZ1/water-discharge-plasmoids-last-hundreds-of-milliseconds-and)Suggestive −[The laboratory plasmoids live well under a second, shorter than most reports.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40ABBE4WYK/the-laboratory-plasmoids-live-well-under-a-second-shorter)Suggestive [New physics, such as dark-matter nuggets or magnetic monopoles.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40ABK87VDK/new-physics-such-as-dark-matter-nuggets-or-magnetic)Disputed −[Proposed without an observational test.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40ABV260Q0/proposed-without-an-observational-test)Suggestive [Does the 2012 Qinghai recording show a ball of burning soil vapour?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/questions/QST0D40A5QR3YCV/does-the-2012-qinghai-recording-show-a-ball-of-burning-soil)5 findings [Yes; it was a ball of vaporised soil elements sustained after the stroke.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40ACAP3GBV/yes-it-was-a-ball-of-vaporised-soil-elements-sustained-after)Most likely +[Soil lines are present for the entire lifetime.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40ACJG69Z1/soil-lines-are-present-for-the-entire-lifetime)Supported +[Si I and Fe I temperatures of about 4,300–4,600 K, below the oxygen-line temperature of about 8,750 K.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40ACTA0BPB/si-i-and-fe-i-temperatures-of-about-4-3004-600-k-below-the)Suggestive +[Optical power of about 4 kW for most of its life.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40AD246RMK/optical-power-of-about-4-kw-for-most-of-its-life)Suggestive [It was a related but different phenomenon, such as a long-lived luminous ground-strike remnant, not…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40AD9Y1EQW/it-was-a-related-but-different-phenomenon-such-as-a-long)Still possible +[Martin Uman called it probably ball lightning, or one type of ball lightning.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40ADHR05B2/martin-uman-called-it-probably-ball-lightning-or-one-type-of)Suggestive +[It was a single event seen at 0.9 km; the apparent 5 m glow overstates the ball's size.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40ADSJ6NMS/it-was-a-single-event-seen-at-0-9-km-the-apparent-5-m-glow)Suggestive [Does ball lightning form at the point where lightning strikes, or in the electric field near storms?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/questions/QST0D40A5ZJ387Q/does-ball-lightning-form-at-the-point-where-lightning)5 findings [Balls form at or near ground strike points.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40AE964NRZ/balls-form-at-or-near-ground-strike-points)Most likely +[In 34 European cases, close events lay a mean 0.42 km from a stroke, and stronger strokes were closer.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40AEH057ZT/in-34-european-cases-close-events-lay-a-mean-0-42-km-from-a)Suggestive +[The 2012 ball formed at a cloud-to-ground strike point.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40AERT7MMJ/the-2012-ball-formed-at-a-cloud-to-ground-strike-point)Supported +[Rayle's first category appears after a stroke to ground and stays near the ground.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40AF0M4J84/rayles-first-category-appears-after-a-stroke-to-ground-and)Suggestive [Balls form in the electric fields near storms, not necessarily at a stroke.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/answers/ANS0D40AF8E6BC3/balls-form-in-the-electric-fields-near-storms-not)Most likely +[For the best-located US report the nearest strike was 2.3 km away.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40AFG80ZBE/for-the-best-located-us-report-the-nearest-strike-was-2-3-km)Suggestive +[Rayle's second category is first seen in mid-air and vanishes without disturbance.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/evidence/EVD0D40AFR22WXH/rayles-second-category-is-first-seen-in-mid-air-and-vanishes)Suggestive ## Artifacts The films, photos, papers and objects this mystery rests on, each with its own key and its distance from the original. **Artifacts** [See all 9](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/artifacts) Document2 steps from object [Slitless spectra and high-speed frames of the 2012 Qinghai ball lightning](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/artifacts/ART0D40AHYC0B5J/slitless-spectra-and-high-speed-frames-of-the-2012-qinghai) Cen, Yuan and Xue · publisher Video1 step from object [Digital video of the 2012 Qinghai ball lightning](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/artifacts/ART0D40AJXM1WK7/digital-video-of-the-2012-qinghai-ball-lightning) Cen, Yuan and Xue · publisher Document1 step from object [NASA Technical Note D-3188, Ball lightning characteristics](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/artifacts/ART0D40AKN24RCE/nasa-technical-note-d-3188-ball-lightning-characteristics) Warren D. Rayle, NASA Lewis Research Center · Public domain (US government work) Document2 steps from object [Paolo Viviani's video of a probable ball lightning, Pruno, 2010](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/artifacts/ART0D40AM4P6G5E/paolo-vivianis-video-of-a-probable-ball-lightning-pruno-2010) Sello, Viviani and Paganini · arXiv-nonexclusive [See all 9 artifacts](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ball-lightning/artifacts) ## See also [ **Hessdalen lights** Lights reported near the ground in a valley in central Norway since 1981. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hessdalen-lights) [ **Marfa lights** Lights seen at night over Mitchell Flat, east of Marfa in west Texas, reported since at least 1945. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights) [ **Phoenix Lights, 13 March 1997** A V of lights and a row of flares seen by thousands over Arizona on 13 March 1997. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/phoenix-lights) [ **Loch Ness** A Scottish loch where over a thousand people have reported a large animal since 1933. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/loch-ness) ## References 1. 1.[Sonnenfeld, R., Stephan, K., Keul, A. et al. 2020. Applying modern meteorological tools to the study of ball lightning (Kugelblitz). Earth and Space Science Open Archive (ESSOAr).](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409YN66BYC/applying-modern-meteorological-tools-to-the-study-of-ball)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1002/essoar.10505247.1)cited 6 times here**SRC** 0D409YN66BYC 1. 2.[Rayle, W. 1966. Ball lightning characteristics (NASA TN D-3188). NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409XXR05T8/ball-lightning-characteristics-nasa-tn-d-3188)cited 10 times here**SRC** 0D409XXR05T8 1. 3.[Peer, J., Kendl, A. 2010. Transcranial stimulability of phosphenes by long lightning electromagnetic pulses. Physics Letters A 374, 2932–2935.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409XNY4DBC/transcranial-stimulability-of-phosphenes-by-long-lightning)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physleta.2010.05.023)cited 6 times here**SRC** 0D409XNY4DBC 1. 4.[Ball, P. 2014. First spectrum of ball lightning. 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Temperature of apparent natural ball lightning obtained by examination of the spectra. Physics of Plasmas 29(11), 113503.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409W727DTY/temperature-of-apparent-natural-ball-lightning-obtained-by)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0098329)cited 4 times here**SRC** 0D409W727DTY 1. 8.[Abrahamson, J., Dinniss, J. 2000. Ball lightning caused by oxidation of nanoparticle networks from normal lightning strikes on soil. Nature 403, 519–521.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409WEW7T5H/ball-lightning-caused-by-oxidation-of-nanoparticle-networks)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1038/35000525)cited 5 times here**SRC** 0D409WEW7T5H 1. 9.[Wu, H. 2016. Relativistic-microwave theory of ball lightning. Scientific Reports 6, 28263.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409XE40M7Q/relativistic-microwave-theory-of-ball-lightning)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1038/srep28263)cited 6 times here**SRC** 0D409XE40M7Q 1. 10.[Versteegh, A., Behringer, K., Fantz, U. et al. 2008. Long-living plasmoids from an atmospheric water discharge. Plasma Sources Science and Technology 17(2), 024014.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409X6A04XR/long-living-plasmoids-from-an-atmospheric-water-discharge)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/17/2/024014)cited 5 times here**SRC** 0D409X6A04XR 1. 11.[Keul, A., Diendorfer, G. 2018. Assessment of ball lightning cases by correlated LLS data. 34th International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP 2018), IEEE.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409YDC28Z6/assessment-of-ball-lightning-cases-by-correlated-lls-data)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1109/ICLP.2018.8503422)cited 7 times here**SRC** 0D409YDC28Z6 1. 12.[Amirov, A., Bychkov, V. 1995. Ball lightning diameter-lifetime statistical analysis of SKB databank. Physica Scripta 51(3), 413–416.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409Y5J08P1/ball-lightning-diameter-lifetime-statistical-analysis-of-skb)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-8949/51/3/025)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D409Y5J08P1 1. 13.[Smirnov, B. 1993. Physics of ball lightning. Physics Reports 224(4), 151–236.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409Z4T2Y5G/physics-of-ball-lightning)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1016/0370-1573(93)90121-S)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0D409Z4T2Y5G 1. 14.[Stenhoff, M. 1999. Ball Lightning: An Unsolved Problem in Atmospheric Physics. Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409ZCM3YVY/ball-lightning-an-unsolved-problem-in-atmospheric-physics)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47092-6_10)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D409ZCM3YVY 1. 15.[Boerner, H. 2025. Ball Lightning: A Popular Guide to a Longstanding Mystery in Atmospheric Electricity (2nd edition). Springer.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409ZME7G45/ball-lightning-a-popular-guide-to-a-longstanding-mystery-in)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-02164-9)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0D409ZME7G45 1. 16.[Stephan, K., Sonnenfeld, R., Keul, A. 2022. First comparisons of ball-lightning report website data with lightning-location-network data. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 240, 105953.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409YX026HJ/first-comparisons-of-ball-lightning-report-website-data-with)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2022.105953)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0D409YX026HJ 1. 17.[Sello, S., Viviani, P., Paganini, E. 2011. Ball lightning observation: an objective video-camera analysis report. arXiv:1102.2829.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409ZW86N8B/ball-lightning-observation-an-objective-video-camera)cited 4 times here**SRC** 0D409ZW86N8B 1. 18.[Paiva, G., Pavão, A., Alpes de Vasconcelos, E. et al. 2007. Production of ball-lightning-like luminous balls by electrical discharges in silicon. Physical Review Letters 98, 048501.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409WPP24JY/production-of-ball-lightning-like-luminous-balls-by)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.048501)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D409WPP24JY 1. 19.[Dikhtyar, V., Jerby, E. 2006. Fireball ejection from a molten hot spot to air by localized microwaves. Physical Review Letters 96, 045002.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D409WYG69CB/fireball-ejection-from-a-molten-hot-spot-to-air-by-localized)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.045002)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D409WYG69CB 1. 20.[Zhitnitsky, A. 2025. Ball lightning as a profound manifestation of the dark matter physics. Universe 11, 284.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D40A0423Y1J/ball-lightning-as-a-profound-manifestation-of-the-dark)[doi](https://doi.org/10.3390/universe11090284)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D40A0423Y1J 1. 21.[Jennison, R. 1969. Ball lightning. Nature 224, 895.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D40A0BW39RP/ball-lightning)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1038/224895a0)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0D40A0BW39RP Last edited 27 Oct 2026