Rare Natural Phenomena
Some natural phenomena are amazing meteorological and climatic events that occur naturally at different times and scales, and each of them is unique in its own way.
Rain of Animals
Several strange cases of animals falling from the sky have been recorded in history. For example, in the summer of 2000 in Ethiopia, it rained millions of fish, some of which were dead while others were still wriggling. Most of these "animal" rains occur during tornadoes or other types of severe storms capable of lifting and carrying objects and water, but there is one striking fact — usually, the rains consist of one type of animal. It can be rain only of herring or a specific type of frog.
Star Rain
Traditionally, the most memorable phenomenon of the second half of summer is the Perseid meteor shower. The usual activity of this stream occurs from July 17 to August 24. The Perseids are arguably the most dynamic, stable, beautiful, and strong annual meteor shower. The peak occurs on August 12-13, when the number of meteors reaches 100-110 per hour. No astronomical instruments are needed to observe the meteor shower, so anyone can enjoy the night spectacle.
Rainbow Eucalyptus, Philippines
The rainbow eucalyptus is the brightest tree on the planet; it grows in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Guinea. The change in the color of the eucalyptus trunk occurs due to the gradual shedding of the bark in narrow strips. The renewal of the outer layer of bark occurs annually. Initially, the bark is bright green. Then, as it matures, it darkens and acquires blue, purple, orange, and dark burgundy tones.
Volcanic Lightning
Volcanic activity provides a very "nutritious" environment for impressive discharges in several ways. The incredible amount of volcanic dust and gas ejected creates a dense flow of charged particles.
This causes electrostatic ionization and, consequently, very powerful and frequent lightning that seeks to neutralize the charge. Two types of such lightning are observed: 1) striking from the crater and associated with electrical processes in magma, 2) occurring in clouds and associated with the friction of volcanic ash.
However, the processes of thunderstorm formation at volcanoes are very complex and depend on many factors: temperature, height of the eruption, dispersion of dust, and its composition. Due to the large number of solid particles in volcanic ash, such thunderstorms are also called dirty.
Aurora Borealis
In some places, this phenomenon is also called the northern lights. This phenomenon has an optical nature, being one of the most beautiful in the world. The aurora can only be observed in high latitudes, not far from the poles. Usually, the northern lights are bluish-white, while multicolored auroras are extremely rare. The cause of this natural effect is the bombardment of the upper layers of the atmosphere by charged particles moving from near-Earth space to the ground along the lines of the geomagnetic field. The duration of the aurora ranges from several hours to several days, allowing people to admire the beautiful pattern in the sky.
Whirlpools
These giant whirlpools arise when two ocean currents meet. The current is so strong that it can sink small boats, not to mention swimmers. The largest whirlpool is called "Saltstraumen" and is located off the coast of Norway.
Glory
Glory — a rainbow halo around your silhouette — occurs when you are between a cloud and the sun. This is hardly possible on the ground, but in the mountains, it is easy. In principle, glory occurs in any sufficiently humid mountainous region, but most often, one can see their shadow on the clouds from the peak of Brocken in the Harz Mountains in Germany, which is why glory is often called the "Brocken Specter."
Monarch Butterfly Migration
There is no need to argue that the migration of monarch butterflies is one of the most beautiful phenomena on the planet.
To achieve their goal, the butterfly must cover 3200 km, but no single butterfly can do this, so the butterflies cover this distance over several generations.
Sandstorms
Sandstorms can be quite a spectacular phenomenon, but being nearby is not the best option. Storms in the desert always threaten travelers, as they can be buried in sand or simply suffocate. Sandstorms occur when strong winds lift particles of soil and sand into the atmosphere and carry them away. Some of these storms are so massive that they can be seen from space. Every year, 40 million tons of dust are carried from the Sahara Desert to the Amazon River basin across the Atlantic. When part of the soil is blown away by the wind, it threatens agriculture or can deplete supplies of essential minerals.
Ball Lightning
Any lightning is a discharge of electric current that can take various forms. Lightning is always accompanied by a flash and thunder. There are probably no people who have not seen regular lightning. But there are so-called ball lightning or, as they were previously called, fireballs. Such lightning is indeed very rare. It is believed that for every 1000 lightning strikes, there are two ball lightning. Even today, the exact cause of ball lightning is not known. Sometimes such lightning defies all laws of physics. There have been several cases where ball lightning appeared inside a house or even an airplane. Typically, ball lightning is yellow or red. They usually hover in the air for several seconds before disappearing.
Fire Tornado
One of the most unusual and, at the same time, deadly phenomena is the fire tornado. This is a process in the atmosphere when several isolated fire spots combine into one powerful tornado. In this case, the air masses above the tornado heat up and become less dense, allowing the fire element to rise, burning everything in its path. The tornado can reach a height of about 5 kilometers! The rush of hot air reaches hurricane speeds, and the temperature rises to 1000 degrees Celsius. Everything around is "sucked" into the fire. The fire tornado is not only an unusual but also a deadly phenomenon. Fortunately, this phenomenon is quite rare. However, every appearance of a fire tornado has been recorded in the annals of history. This includes the Great Fire of London in 1666, the fire in Moscow in 1812, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and other terrible cases of the fury of the fire element.
Green Flash at Sunset
One should also include the stunningly beautiful sight of the green flash at sunset among inexplicable natural phenomena. To see it, only three conditions need to be met: find an open horizon, a cloudless sky, and clean air. This strange optical effect lasts only a few seconds (rarely — minutes) and appears as a greenish emerald flash on the horizon at the moment the sun disappears below it. Researcher William Conn attempted to explain the appearance of the green flash as follows. When oxygen atoms transition from a metastable state to a normal state, they emit light. This is expressed in a light wave that colors the horizon green. This hypothesis has not yet been scientifically confirmed.
Mirages
Despite their prevalence, mirages always evoke an almost mystical sense of wonder. We all know the reason for the appearance of most mirages — overheated air changes its optical properties, causing light inhomogeneities known as mirages.
Parhelion (False Sun, Three Suns)
Parhelion is a very rare phenomenon that occurs only in winter on clear days when the sun hangs low on the horizon. It arises from ice crystals suspended in the air, which act like millions of tiny prisms, refracting sunlight. As a result, three suns can be seen in the sky: the real one and two duplicates to the left and right.
Crab Migration on Christmas Island
At the beginning of the rainy season (which usually starts in October/November), more than 50 million adult red crabs suddenly begin to migrate from the forest to the coast to breed. The movement usually occurs across the entire island. Their migration typically takes five to seven days.
Light Pillars
Such pillars can be enjoyed in extremely cold areas of the Earth. They are of natural origin, forming in the light of the Moon or the Sun. The light is reflected off very flat and smooth ice crystals.
Snow Smoke, Arctic
Mofettes are vents through which volcanic steam escapes to the surface. Once the steam leaves the vent, it freezes and forms massive tubes around the vent.
Naga Fireballs
Like ball lightning, Naga fireballs are an unusual natural phenomenon. From unconfirmed sources, they have been seen on the Mekong River in Thailand and Laos, where glowing reddish balls supposedly rise from the water. There have been several attempts to scientifically explain Naga fireballs, but so far, there is no definitive explanation for this phenomenon.
"Fairy Circles" in Namibia.
Researchers of this mysterious phenomenon suggest that it is the "work" of sand termites.
Ice "Flowers," Arctic
This amazing phenomenon occurs in Arctic waters and happens when there is a significant temperature difference between ocean water and the surrounding atmosphere. Water vapor, when in contact with cold air, cools sharply and condenses back on the surface, but already in the form of crystals several centimeters high.
Blue Lava, Indonesia
Kawah Ijen volcano is located in East Java, Indonesia. During the day, it is an ordinary volcano with bright red lava, but at night, the lava it erupts takes on a mystical blue color. This mysterious glow is a product of burning a large amount of sulfur present in the lava. Most of the crater floor is occupied by a huge lake, above which rise 3-5 meter tongues of blue flame — it consists almost entirely of pure sulfuric acid.
Catatumbo Lightning, Venezuela
Above the place where the Catatumbo River flows into Lake Maracaibo, there exists a mysterious natural phenomenon — at an altitude of about five kilometers, the sky is pierced by electric discharges without the usual sound accompaniment. Lightning appears almost every night and lasts about 10 hours. Scientists explain this natural phenomenon in various ways, but there is no consensus yet.
Frozen Methane Bubbles
Plants at the bottom of the Abraham Lake in Canada produce methane all winter long. Bubbles of gas rise to the frozen surface and literally crowd under the ice as the lake freezes deeper. Yes, the thought of igniting the lake comes to mind, and scientists from the University of Alaska have already done this. It burns. Just like in Chukovsky's poem: "And the foxes took matches, went to the blue sea, set the blue sea on fire."
Coastal Cappuccino
The sea can turn into foam in any part of the planet, but this most often occurs in the southern hemisphere. Within minutes, the entire coastline, houses, and sun loungers disappear in a suddenly appeared foam that slowly dissolves on the sand.
For foam to appear in seawater, there must be a large accumulation of algae, salt, and some waste. These components act as surfactants (like shampoo in your bathtub) and reduce the surface tension at the water-air interface. Strong currents and winds can easily whip all the ingredients into a rich foam and carry it towards astonished bathers.
St. Elmo's Fire
This phenomenon is as unusual as it is beautiful. The first witnesses were sailors who could see these lights on the masts and other pointed vertical objects of their ships. This phenomenon appears as beautiful glowing spheres that arise due to high tension in the electric field. Usually, St. Elmo's fire appears during a thunderstorm, strong storm, or blizzard. There have been cases where these lights even disrupted radio and electrical devices.
Steam Towers, Iceland
The area around Hveravellir is extremely active. Ghostly towers of steam rise from hot springs in the marshes and on the surface of the earth. Combined with the northern lights, all this resembles landscapes of an alien planet.
Moonbow
When the moon is low and close to full, it is raining opposite it, and the sky is dark and cloudless, a moonbow can occur. The combination of conditions is not simple, which is why, unlike a solar rainbow, a moonbow is not often seen.
Solar Eclipse
Solar eclipses occur when the disk of the Moon covers it from the perspective of an observer on Earth. The diameter of the Sun is about 400 times larger than the diameter of the Moon, but by coincidence, the Sun is 400 times further from us than our satellite. That is why sometimes we can observe a total solar eclipse, during which the solar corona — the layer of plasma around the Sun — is visible. Eclipses have fascinated people since ancient times, and they learned to predict them thousands of years ago.
Sea Sparkles
Perhaps this is the most astonishing marine wonder of the planet, which arises from the ability of tiny organisms "Noctiluca scintillans" to glow in the dark. These small organisms can turn the sea into a "Laser Show." When noctilucas gather in huge numbers, their light is even visible from space. Such a wonder cannot be described in words.