Fireballs.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1994, 18 April 1885, Page 2 (Supplement)

Fireballs.

Lady Borthwick, in a letter to the Morning Post, describes a curious phenomena as having recently occurred in Perthshire during a terrific thunderstorm. The storm, says the writer, began at 10 o'olook in the morning and continued with unabated violence till past 10 at night. It appeared to be at its height from about •') till 7 p.m., when as many as three flashes of lightning occurred to one peal of thunder. In many cases they were of a vivid pink colour. At about 6 o'clock a loud noiso waa heard, unlike any preceding it : " The heavens seemed to open, and there issued from the clouds what appeared like a ball of fire, about the size of a man's head, which exploded with a terrific orash, emitting quantities of sparks." It then appeared to descend at a distance of not more than 20 yards from the house. Mr. J. K. Laugh ton, commenting upon the phenomena in the next issue, states that " ball lightning" is not solid, but yet in *' passing along the surface of soft land it ploughs it up in a way that no cannon ball could do," and refers to an instance of this mentioned by Scott in his " Elementary Meteorology." At a recent meeting of the Paris Academy of Sciences, M. Gaston Plante illustrated some remarks upon globular electrio bolts by producing artificially, effects analogous to those of fireballs, and it would be interesting to know more respecting their nature. As they appear to occur only very occasionally, on account of the rare conditions of the atmosphere producing them, it is certainly advisable to collect all the evidence respecting them that is obtainable. By each means it may in course of time become possible for those who are competent to deal with the facts, to arrive at some definite conclusions concerning this little understood phenomenon.