Bright blue light observed in night sky

[Chris L Peterson]

On 5 Jun 2006 06:43:10 -0700, "CNJ999" <jbortle@aol.com> wrote:


That's a good observation. I recall during a large earthquake (and while
living on a hill overlooking L.A.) seeing many such arcs, and they are
bright enough to light up a region of the sky very much like the OP
described.

Transformer explosions and power line arcs don't go unnoticed by power
companies. It should be possible to check on.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

[Robin Wier]

"CNJ999" <jbortle@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1149514990.012165.62320@j55g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...

Here in Phoenix, AZ, the city sits on a large, flat valley floor. Intense
t-storms often produce such events. I refer to them as "blown transformers".
On rare occasions two "go off" side by side in quick succession. These
produce a double flash not unlike the OP's observation. At the right
distance these can easily fill a large portion of the sky with a beautiful
blue-green hue lasting 1-3 seconds.

[Anonymous AtWork]

Robin Wier wrote:

A blown transformer sounds like a cannon going off, though (I had one
across the street wake me up at about 3 am a couple years ago). Was
there any accompanying sound?

[CNJ999]

Anonymous AtWork wrote:

There is audiable sound only if the transformer failure is relatively
nearby. I've seen their sky show at a distance of around 3-8 miles
without any sound being heard (I live in an area where such failures
are relatively common).

CNJ999

[George]

"Chris L Peterson" <clp@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote in message
news:bkc8825upn47tndd8hojfr1oajmpb8rvke@4ax.com...

It was just a thought. I saw a very bright one about a year ago, but I
don't remember if it had any color other than white. Someone else suggested
that it could have been a transformer or an electric arc, which seems a
reasonable explanation, except I don't think he mentioned anything about
the loud boom that usually accompanies a blown transformer.

George

[Robert Irvine]

I saw something similar while driving along the freeway one time.

I finally figured out it was the spark from an electric train, combined
with a light fog. I only figured it out because the train line ran
alongside the freeway at one point, and a train just happened to go past
and make a bit of a spark which lit up the entire area.

Any train lines (or tram line) in the direction of the flash? There was
a heavy fog the next morning, so it may have been the start of the fog
at that time.

Rob.


"CNJ999" <jbortle@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1149514990.012165.62320@j55g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...

[RandyL]

Frack,
It could be a lot of things...but I would suspect that the explanations
with the highest probabilities are either an electrical transformer that
exploded, a large meteor, or lightening at or below the horizon. My money is
on the electrical transformer. They can be quite spectacular when the blow.

Randy L.
--
Remember: Any landing that you can
walk away from, is a landing that you
can be fined, sued, or prosecuted for.

"Frackshat" <frackshat@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1149475328.062295.88350@i39g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...

[Lindsay]

Frackshat wrote:


The power failed in Mordialloc and Aspendale at about that time...
And yeah, as others have said, transformers do go off "with a bang", and
a fantastic blue flash...

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[GreggPatterson]

I have a question about those iridium flares or whatever they are called how come whenever someone puts they saw a bright flash of light someone writes in that they might have been those flares... from my understanding those flares are just little gleams of light resembling like a shooting star or an actual star or is it actually a BRIGHT light illuminating the sky? I just was unsure of this

[Canon Pete]

Yup Iridium Flare are brief flashes/streaks lasting a seconds, deff not bright enough to illuminate surrounding sky area.