Blue flashes in he sky

Sean, nice theory but I'm afraid it doesn't hold water with me. I have seen many many iridium flares in my time and I know exactly what they look like.

These blue flashes are very very different and look like the flashes you get when you take off a wolly jumper too fast in the dark.

There you go then:

These blue flashes are very very different and look like the flashes you get when you take off a wolly jumper too fast in the dark.

Orion took off his wooly jumper :lol:
Bill.

There you go then:

These blue flashes are very very different and look like the flashes you get when you take off a wolly jumper too fast in the dark.

Orion took off his wooly jumper :lol:
Bill.

LMAO ... well it's the best theory I've heard so far!

hi everyone,

I've been following the thread and the various suggestions put forward as to what causes these mysterious flashes. I've seen them on occasion as well . . . most notably, on the way back from Cosmos a few years ago when we stopped for a quick spot of observing outside Tyrrelspass. The sky was quite clear with a small bit of cloud very low on the northeastern horizon. Twice, within the space of a few minutes, I saw a sudden "electric flash" like what everyone here has described. I likened it either to a flashgun going off or a lighthouse beam very rapidly sweeping across the sky.

I think an issue of Stardust last year had a similar report.

now, what could cause the phenomenon. Well, I think the general consensus amongst researchers is that they are still stumped. I've a few books by William Corliss (of the Sourcebook Project fame) and read through them last night. The "Handbook of Unusual Natural Phenomena" has a small piece on all-sky flashes and suggests an upper atmosphere discharge of some sort as a possible theory.

(William Corliss' Sourcebook project is at www.science-frontiers.com/sourcebk.htm )

this book was written before the recent research into "sprites" -- the fraction of a second bursts of light associated with thunderstorms, and which were seen by pilots for years before serious study was undertaken of the phenomenon. Sprites can appear as huge blobs of plasma towering above thunderheads or "jets" shooting high into the upper atmosphere. The awareness of these sprites has led some to suggest these as the cause of the all-sky flashes . . .

. . . except, the flashes can happen in a clear sky! Now, it's possible that we are seeing the flashes from "beyond the horizon" which would tie down sprites as the cause but that is very unlikely. A meteor coming into the atmosphere and sparking a piezo-electric discharge? Again, very unlikely. Electrical effects due to terra firma relieving stresses on crustal fractures? There is some evidence of such a phenomenon preceeding earthquakes.

Cherenkov radiation is a good suggestion though as to the cause. The Apollo astronauts witnessed flashes in their eyes during the trips to the Moon which were due to cosmic ray impacts. Detailed examination of their helmets also showed particles that burrowed a good centimetre or so into the hard shell material. It's very possible that we are seeing the same here on Earth.

I'd still have my doubts that this is the cause of what we see. Some sort of upper atmosphere electrical discharge seems the most probable explanation. There's still much to learn about the natural world and it's hidden secrets so the jury, as far as I'm concerned, is still out on this one . . .

John F.

a plethora of web sites on sprites is at; dir.yahoo.com/science/earth_sciences/met...es__jets__and_elves/

Confirmed sighting of these blue flashes.
Myself and Johnno met up for an observing session at my place, which has a fairly dark sky. We saw at least a dozen of these flashes. About 95% of the sky was clear at the time. However, the part that wasn't clear was over to the east in the direction of the Wicklow Mountains. There was some light cloud in this direction and it was from this direction the flashes originated. The flashes were so bright that they completely lit up the whole sky and the ground, casting shadows in the process, for only a tiny fraction of a second. At first I wasn't sure if it was a camera flash or something. However, as they continued on, they got brighter and brighter. I eventually kept looking east to try and pinpoint a location. Eventually a double-burst happened which appeared to originate from a small portion of the cloud. One side effect of all these flashes was that it frightened alot of the animals in the area. Several of the neighbours cats were crying, the dogs were howling and the local farmers cows were bellowing continuously. I even passed a comment to Johnno that it was Halloween! Seriously, it was a very strange experience. Eventually, the flashes stopped, the wind also calmed down and the animals went silent.
Personally, I do think it is atmosphere-related as the wind died down significantly afterwards. The only thing that confuses me is that the cloud was not like a thunderstorm cloud but looked more like a light haze than anything else.

Michael,
What time did you see these flashes,
We were up on the hill last night and at approx 815 I saw 2 flashes to the lower east. They were very bright but low, could these be the same thing?
I couldnt see any cloud in the sky last night.

What kind of altitude would something need to be if it could be seen from the Kildare area and Limerick?