Three consecutive flashes of blue light in the sky, experts say: difficult to explain, mysterious blue light reappears! Before the Moroccan earthquake
According to CCTV News, on September 11th local time, Moroccan media quoted the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior as saying that the death toll from the earthquake in Morocco has risen to 2862, while the number of injured has risen to 2562.
On September 10th local time, Moroccan local media released a surveillance video footage showing that before the earthquake, there were three consecutive flashes of blue light in the sky of the southwestern Moroccan city of Agadir, illuminating the sky. Many residents saw this scene.
Eyad Alhamud, a Saudi "big V" with 5 million fans, said that it was not the first time such a coincidence had happened that blue light and a big earthquake had appeared in succession - in February this year, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Türkiye, and before the earthquake, someone had photographed blue light in the sky of Khathai, Türkiye.
▲ Monitoring screen shows blue light flashing before the Moroccan earthquake
Not the first time it appeared before a major earthquake
What exactly is "blue light"?
"Mysterious blue flashes have appeared on the Moroccan horizon, and no one knows what they are. It should be noted that a similar light appeared in the Turkish Syrian earthquake seven months ago." Ahmed posted this video on social media and asked, "Can anyone explain it?"
According to reports, this is not the first time that mysterious blue light related to earthquakes has been seen in the sky. In September 2017, when an 8.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in Mexico, mysterious blue light appeared in the sky; In September 2021, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in southwestern Mexico, and similar situations have also occurred; Seven months ago, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye, and blue light appeared on the skyline of Khathai, the country. The video caused heated discussion on the Internet.
What exactly is this kind of light? According to the United States Geological Survey, phenomena related to earthquakes such as sheet lightning, photosphere, streaming light, and stable luminescence are called "seismic light". It is understood that earthquake light is not only blue, but may also have other colors, and there are even records of colored flashes appearing; The duration is also different, some flicker briefly like lightning, while others last for a few minutes.
The earliest record of seismic light can be traced back several centuries, when Boston College seismologist John Ebel documented seismic light in a historical book about earthquakes in the Northeast United States.
In a study conducted in 2014, researchers found that there were 65 earthquakes in Europe and America from the 18th to the 20th century that caused sky glow.
The phenomenon of "seismic light"
It has been a mystery for a long time
The coincidence of the appearance time of earthquake light has led many people to speculate that it is a precursor to earthquakes. So, how is seismic light formed? Also, what is the relationship between seismic light and earthquakes?
Unfortunately, there is no clear answer yet on how seismic light is formed. Due to the unpredictable nature of earthquake light, it is difficult for experts to collect data for analysis and research. Therefore, the scientific community has not reached a consensus on the causes of its formation, with only some speculations and no theoretical evidence.
A widely supported conjecture is that the friction between crustal plates produces charge separation, resulting in the generation of this light, which is known as the "frictional luminescence" principle. However, some experts question this theory because typical charge separation occurs between different materials that rub against each other, rather than between rocks.
"The friction between rocks is unlikely to generate large-scale charge separation," said Karen Daniels, a physicist at North Carolina State University in the United States, "so this doesn't seem like a perfect explanation."
She pointed out that there is another explanation related to electrical equipment, which is that this type of light is arc light caused by wire shaking during earthquakes. Regarding the blue light before the Moroccan earthquake, some netizens attributed it to an electrical equipment issue and speculated that the blue light was "caused by a transformer explosion.".
According to the United States Geological Survey, experts have different opinions on the "earthquake light" report, with some experts suspecting that some are fake news or gimmicks.
"We cannot determine what is real and what is imagined by observers," Karen Daniels concluded. "People have always been curious about seismic light, but it is a mystery that has always existed and has never been fully solved."
