Natural phenomena associated with the sun. Unusual natural phenomena

Planet Earth is an amazing place filled with a mass of strange and interesting natural phenomena. Some of them are easy to explain from a scientific point of view, some are a real mystery of nature. Below are the most unusual natural phenomena which not only intrigue, but also fascinate.

The natural phenomenon, which has long been called the "Fires of St. Elmo", was a real thunderstorm for sailors. It looked like small, but rather bright balls of yellow-orange color. During bad weather, a storm or a storm, they appeared on the sharp ends of the masts or the spiers of lighthouses. They frightened and delighted at the same time, seemed interesting and alluring.

It was believed that these lights promise a lost ship hope for salvation, bring good luck in distant wanderings and the protection of the gods.

Elmo's fires were small point charges that were concentrated on the edges of sharp objects. They did not burn and were absolutely safe. See those lights in present time quite difficult, because modern high-tech ships have smoother shapes.

Stones that can crawl

Once in a few years in Death Valley national park California, USA, you can follow a strange natural phenomenon - crawling stones. Remarkable is the fact that the movement of boulders has not yet been able to be recorded on film. Traces left on the surface of the dried-up Lake Racetrack Playa clearly confirm this mysterious natural phenomenon.

There are a lot of versions and conjectures regarding its origin. According to one of the most interesting, boulders fall from the nearby hills, which reach a height of about 250 meters. The clay soil of the lake at times slows down the inertial movement on a flat surface, but it still happens. As a result, boulders leave behind even traces up to 3 cm deep and tens of meters long.

Green ray of the setting sun

The stunningly beautiful spectacle of the emergence of a green ray at sunset should also be attributed to inexplicable natural phenomena. To see it, you must meet only 3 conditions: find an open horizon, a cloudless sky and clean air.

A strange optical effect lasts only a few seconds (rarely minutes), it is a greenish-emerald flash in the sky at the moment the sun disappears below the horizon.

Researcher William Cohn tried to explain the appearance of the green beam as follows. With the transition of oxygen atoms to normal condition from the metastable, their emission occurs. It is expressed in a light wave, which tints the horizon green. This conjecture has not yet been confirmed scientifically.

Mystical mirages of the desert

Anomalous natural phenomena are not uncommon for endless sandy areas. Often in the desert you can observe the appearance of mirages. Strange and interesting, inexplicable and incomprehensible, they are illusions and images floating in the air.

There are many conjectures and explanations for their occurrence:

• the whim of the gods;
• tribute to the past;
• secrets of science.

According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, mirages are a reminder of the past, the appearance of objects, people, even cities that no longer exist. According to one of the legends of England, Fata Morgana was considered the ruler of mirages, who deceived sailors with ghostly visions.

From a scientific point of view, mirages are the consequences of temperature overheating of the air, the creation of the so-called "air lens". Interesting enough is the fact that the clearest mirages do not appear in sandy deserts, but in ice. So, in Alaska, the centuries-old cold enhances light inhomogeneities and leads to the emergence of stunningly bright air illusions.

Electric lightning extravaganza Catatumbo

The real attraction of Venezuela is the Catatumbo River, or rather, the place where it flows into Lake Maracaibo. Here you can quite often observe a strange and bewitching phenomenon of nature - a huge concentration of electric charges in the atmosphere. Catatumbo lightning appears up to 150 times a year and continues to sparkle up to 10 hours in a row. This phenomenon is not accompanied by any sound effects.

All this allowed the Venezuelan municipality of Catatumbo to proclaim its territory the Capital of Lightning. This rather interesting phenomenon has been known since the time of ancient navigators: lightning discharges, which were visible for 400 km, served as a kind of beacon for them, were used for navigation.

To date, the phenomenon of the multiplicity of Catatumbo lightning is explained quite simply. Several unique natural factors came together:

• The Andes cut off wind access to the lake;
• evaporated water forms massive clouds;
• electrical discharges occur in the clouds.

As a result of all this, unusually beautiful and high lightning occurs, and a huge amount of ozone is released into the atmosphere.

Cellular clouds - storm harbingers

Another exciting natural phenomenon is cellular, also called biconvex, clouds. They were discovered quite recently, no more than 40 years ago. It belongs to the category of cumulonimbus clouds. Their structure is quite interesting, reminiscent of a kind of convex honeycomb. The elements hanging down are tinted with dark gray. In the case of a low location of the sun above the horizon, they can acquire pinkish, golden, bluish hues.

They are found mainly in the United States, with their appearance they portend the imminent approach of a storm or hurricane. Strange clouds are especially recommended to be avoided by airplanes and helicopters, since cellular clouds often cause fireballs, there are frequent and abrupt changes in the wind. Biconvex clouds are also unique in that they form on descending rather than ascending air currents.

miraculous aurora borealis

One of the strangest and most mysterious wonders of nature is Northern Lights. A stunning sight can be seen in clear, calm weather near the Earth's magnetic poles. The duration of the northern lights varies from 1-2 hours to several days and depends on solar activity.

In itself, this phenomenon represents the glow of the upper atmospheric layer of our planet, which is formed as a result of its interaction with the flow of the hydrogen-helium plasma of the Sun. When the particles collide with each other, the molecules and gases of the atmosphere are activated. Their radiation appears before us in the form of a magnificent and interesting phenomenon- northern lights. Its color palette glows purple when nitrogen is activated, scarlet and emerald when oxygen is excited.

The latest discovery of scientists who conducted research on this natural phenomenon was the confirmation of the sound effect of the aurora. Research group from Aalto University, Helsinki, made an audio recording of light flashes. Numerous legends about the "voices of the luminous sky" were confirmed.

Our world seems familiar to us, studied up and down, open and explained long ago. A person is torn into distant space, but sometimes nature picks up curious riddles for the “jaded”. Miracles of heaven and earth, phenomena that we have heard about many times, but even with the whole mighty arsenal available modern science, some of the mysteries of nature, humanity is unable to explain. Here are 23 Natural Phenomena You Might Have Heard Of, But Never Experienced.

Lightning Catatumbo

Lightning Catatumbo (Catatumbo) is a natural phenomenon that constantly produces a glow without any sound. Lightning occurs at an altitude of about five kilometers. It happens 140-160 nights a year, at night for 10 hours a day, almost 280 times an hour. This almost constant phenomenon occurs at the mouth of the Catatumbo River, where it flows into Lake Maracaibo, a large brackish lake in Venezuela.

Maracaibo - largest lake in South America, its area is 13210 km ?, it is also one of the oldest lakes on Earth (according to some estimates - the second in antiquity). Almost a quarter of the population of Venezuela lives on the shores of the lake. The basin of Lake Maracaibo has large oil reserves, as a result of which the lake serves as a source of wealth for Venezuela. The Catatumbo lightning phenomenon is believed to be one of the major ozone generators on Earth. Approximately 1,176,000 lightning strikes are visible annually at distances up to 400 km. Winds blowing from the Andes mountains cause thunderstorms and lightning strikes in the atmosphere in these wetlands rich in methane, which is much lighter than air. local defenders environment believe that this area of ​​the country should be under the protection of UNESCO, since these lightnings are a unique phenomenon and the largest source of restoration of the planet's ozone layer.

Fish rain in Honduras

Rain of animals is a relatively rare meteorological phenomenon, although such cases have been recorded in many countries throughout human history. But for Honduran Folklore, this is a regular phenomenon. Every year between May and July, a dark cloud appears in the sky, lightning flashes, thunder rumbles, a strong wind blows and heavy rain pours for 2-3 hours. As soon as it stops, hundreds of live fish remain on the ground.

People pick it up like mushrooms and take it home to roast it. Since 1998, the festival "Festival de la Lluvia de Peces" (Fish Rain Festival) has been held here. It is celebrated in the city of Yoro, department de Yoro, Honduras. One hypothesis for the occurrence of the phenomenon is that strong winds lift fish into the air from the water several kilometers in height, since the waters of the Caribbean Sea off the northern coast of Honduras abound in fish and other seafood. However, no one has yet witnessed how this happens exactly.

Moroccan goats grazing in the trees

Morocco is the only country in the world where, due to the lack of grass, goats climb trees and graze there in herds, feasting on the fruits of argan, a tree whose nuts are used to make fragrant oil. Such an amazing picture can only be seen on the High and Middle Atlas, as well as in the Sousse valley and on Atlantic coast between Essaouira and Agadir. In fact, shepherds herd goats, moving from tree to tree. And when the goats leave the tree, they collect nuts under it, which are not digested by the stomach of the goats. However, with such a global consumption of argans, every year they, and, accordingly, less and less oil from nuts are collected. At the same time, this oil is believed to contain anti-aging trace elements. But people don't want to use nut oil that has been in goat feces for rejuvenation. Therefore, a company is now underway to declare the place where argan grows as a reserve.

Red Rains of Kerala

From June 25 to September 23 over the territory of Kerala, India, there were occasional red rains. Initially, it was believed that the color of the rain is the result of a hypothetical meteorite explosion.

Later, when history repeated itself on March 4, 2006, and rainwater samples were collected, scientists concluded that it was colored with "Rhodophyceae" - red seaweed, the inhabitants of the source of Godfrey Louis in Kerala.

The longest wave in the world is in Brazil

Twice a year - between February and March in Brazil, at the mouth of the Amazon, an incoming tide of salty, heavier water Atlantic Ocean meets with the own course of the river and pushes it back, rapidly rolling up the river bed, resulting in the formation of powerful oncoming waves, reaching a height of up to six meters.

This phenomenon can last for half an hour, and it is called a vice. The boiling wall of water rushes with a terrible roar at a speed of 25 km / h upstream, rising 3000 km from the mouth. At the same time, water floods and erodes the coast, and its noise spreads for several kilometers. In one of the local Indian dialects, "amazuni" means "stormy onslaught of water clouds." Perhaps this is where the name of the Amazon River comes from.

Such a wave is a surfer's dream. Since 1999, relevant competitions have been held in San Domingo, although such “swims” can be dangerous, since both pieces of coastal soil and trees are found in the water. Nevertheless, the record - 37 minutes on a pororok (12.5 km) was set by the Brazilian Picuruta Salazar.

Black Sun of Denmark

In the spring in Denmark, an amazing phenomenon occurs: more than a million European starlings (sturnus vulgaris) flock from all around in huge flocks about an hour before sunset.
The Danes call it the Black Sun and can be seen in early spring throughout the swamps of western Denmark, between March and mid-April.
Starlings migrate from the south and spend the day in the meadows gathering food, and in the evening, after collective pirouettes in the sky, they rest in the reeds for the night.

Fire rainbow in Idaho

Such an unusual rainbow is one of the rarest atmospheric phenomena. Scientifically, it is called the "circumhorizontal arc" (circumhorizontal arc). This rainbow appears as a result of light passing through light, high-lying cirrus clouds and only when the sun is very high in the sky - at least 20,000 feet and more than 58 degrees above the horizon. In addition, the hexagonal ice crystals that make up the cirrus clouds must be thick sheets with their faces parallel to the ground. Light enters the vertical face of the crystal and exits the bottom side, being refracted in the same way as when light passes through a prism.

crawling stones

This mysterious phenomenon, taking place in Death Valley (California, USA), has been disturbing the minds of scientists for more than a decade. Huge boulders themselves crawl along the bottom of the dry Lake Racetrack Playa. No one touches them, but they crawl and crawl. Nobody saw them move. And yet they stubbornly crawl, as if alive, occasionally turning over from side to side, leaving behind traces stretching for tens of meters. Sometimes stones write out such unusual and complex lines that they often turn over, making “somersaults” in the process of movement.

annular eclipse

With this phenomenon, the Moon is too far from the Earth to completely cover the Sun. It looks like this: the Moon passes over the disk of the Sun, but it turns out to be smaller than it in diameter, and cannot completely hide it. Such eclipses are of almost no interest to scientists.

edited news VENDETTA - 20-04-2011, 11:38

Here are the most interesting natural phenomena that surprise, amaze, impress and remember for a lifetime.

fiery rainbow

The term "fiery rainbow" is a bit misleading; the correct term is round-horizontal arc. This is a rare optical effect in the atmosphere, which manifests itself in the appearance of a horizontal rainbow against the background of light cirrus clouds. That is, the rainbow bright colors paints patches of clouds - an unreal sight! By the way, the phenomenon is not as rare as one might think, although it does not appear everywhere - it all depends on the latitude. In the USA, for example, a similar miracle can be seen several times during the summer, moreover, every year in the same place, and in Central and Northern Europe such a rainbow is an infrequent visitor.

Waterspout

This is a funnel-shaped vortex of air and water, which is very similar to a normal tornado, but it forms only above the surface of a large body of water. Most often, this phenomenon occurs in tropical latitudes and, unlike an ordinary tornado, a water tornado circles for no more than half an hour, the funnel is smaller in diameter, and the rotation speed is two to three times lower. Sometimes such high tornadoes, "resting" against cumulus clouds, are formed on west coast Europe and some parts of the Mediterranean. Moreover, such water tornadoes can form not only over the seas and bays - sometimes they can be seen over lakes and rivers. For example, cases of waterspouts were recorded over the Great Lakes, as well as over the Volga in 2010.

moving stones

Unique natural phenomenon, unsolved mystery. Sliding stones weighing up to several hundred kilograms have been found on the dry Lake Racetrack Playa in Death Valley in the United States. And these stones ... move, leaving traces up to several tens of meters long and up to 30 cm wide. Who moves the cobblestones? One of the theories is that when water is poured over the desert heavy rains, water flows down the dolomite hills surrounding the lake, filling the lake. But because of high temperatures(and Death Valley is one of the hottest places on the planet) the water quickly evaporates, leaving a layer of soft and viscous mud at the bottom. That is, strong winds move the stones at this time, along a thin layer of mud, which works as a lubricant. However, it was later proven that some stones move and some do not. Moreover, those that move sometimes move in different directions - this makes the wind theory not quite suitable. In addition, the stones are too heavy to be moved. air masses. Recent studies have shown that a layer of ice locally grows around each boulder on cold nights, and rainwater flows turn the stones from side to side, slowly moving them.

morning glory

It's rare meteorological phenomenon, a type of cloud that forms most often over the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia. This phenomenon is best observed from Burketown from September to mid-November. Clouds that look like long pipes can stretch for 1000 kilometers in length, most often 100-200 meters above the ground. This phenomenon is very dangerous for air transport.

earthquake lights

This is an unusual light phenomenon that occurs in the sky above areas of tectonic stress, seismic activity or volcanic eruptions. Moreover, very long time these lights were something of a local tale until they were captured on film during the 1965 Japan earthquake. There are at least three theories for the appearance of such white, blue or purple overflows in the sky.

Supercell

In another way, this phenomenon is called a supercell thunderstorm, and it is a continuously rotating updraft that can last several hours. It can carry hail, rain and wind, sometimes tornadoes. Supercells can form anywhere in the world, but are more common in the Great Plains of the United States.

Columnar basalts

When lava flows cool, they often shrink and crack perpendicular to the direction of the flow, forming a series of pillars. One of the most famous examples- Giant's Road, in the north-east of Northern Ireland, although the largest example is the Devil's Tower in Wyoming, in the USA: a monolith with a relative height of 386 meters even appears in the Steven Spielberg film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

ice circles

Scientists believe that these even circles are formed as a result of the rotation of a large piece of ice. As a result, other pieces of ice are distributed relatively evenly around the edges - a perfect circle is obtained. In nature, there are ice circles with diameters of more than 150 meters.

Kalgaspory

These ice formations are sometimes also called "repentant snows" or "repentant monks". Calgaspores are ice blades that stick out at an acute angle most often in the mountains and can reach 30 meters in height. These ice needles are formed as a result of cyclic thawing and freezing of water under conditions low temperatures. For climbers, such natural phenomena are a difficult obstacle, although on the other hand, small calgaspores can even facilitate movement, because they form something like steps.

The rainbow is fiery, the sun is false, the rain is fishy, ​​the clouds are mother-of-pearl, and the desert is blooming. These amazing natural phenomena ordinary people seen in Discovery Channel stories or in feature films. Only a few lucky ones manage to observe them with their own eyes.

The fiery rainbow is included in the TOP-15 amazing natural phenomena on earth. She appears when the sun is on high altitude, and its rays illuminate the ice crystals. This happens in summer - where there are cirrus clouds, and latitudes located near the equator. Residents of Los Angeles are more fortunate - they can watch a fiery rainbow for almost half a year.

amazing physical phenomena nature occur in areas far from the equator. Mother-of-pearl clouds appear in the polar latitudes in winter, when the temperature drops to abnormal values. It is difficult to see them, because they are located at an altitude of 15-30 km from the ground. Unusually, they shimmer with all colors after sunset and decorate the evening sky.

The blooming Atacama Desert in Chile is another natural phenomenon that happens every 7-10 years. Atacama bloomed for the first time after a heavy downpour that turned into a flood. Moisture turned out to be life-giving for plant seeds.

Rain happens:

• storm;
• blind;
• drizzling;
• summer;
• mushroom;
• thunderstorm;
• fish.

Fish rain is a phenomenon for meteorologists, although cases of its fall are periodically recorded in different states. In Honduras, it falls every May-July. The small town of Yoro even hosts an annual themed festival.

Stormy skies, gusty winds, heavy rain - bad weather rages for several hours. When the rain subsides, thousands of live fish remain on the ground. Scientists explain this by the force of the wind, which lifts the fish from sea ​​depths and moves it for several kilometers.

Parhelion is the scientific name for this optical phenomenon. It is formed in the air at sunrise or sunset and is a reflection of multiple sun rays in ice crystals. The human eye perceives it as bright spots located on both sides of the sun, and moving along the horizon synchronously.

Scientists can't explain physics natural wonder for several decades now. Weighty stones move independently along the bottom of the lake in Death Valley.

The researchers failed to see the process of movement, but the fact is the fact. The stones move several meters along a complex trajectory, leaving deep traces, turn over on their side and somersault.

The Maldives is deservedly called a paradise resort. Here, even the beaches glow at night. The secret of the glow is phytoplankton, nailed to the shore and shimmering in the waves blue color. The beaches in the Maldives are often lit up, so you need to choose moonless nights to be sure to see them. The picture is unforgettable.

Amazing in nature and the northern lights, coloring the dark sky in yellow, red, blue and other colors in 2-3 seconds. During the radiance, the street is as bright as day.

The northern lights are best seen in Lapland, in areas where the wild nature, the air is transparent, not polluted by urban buildings and not distorted street lighting. When the solar wind (charged particles) is attracted to the Earth's magnetic pole, a multi-colored glow appears.

Fragile butterflies with black and orange plumage live in North America. Every year, the monarchs, fleeing the cold, migrate to California and Mexico. While walking through Californian parks, you can observe a unique picture - bushes and trees covered with cute birds. Mexicans associate monarchs with the souls of the dead - this is due to the fact that butterflies arrive in the country on the day of commemoration of the dead.

The most amazing phenomena for some states are considered ordinary in other countries. One of them is sandstorms that occur in the deserts of Africa and Asia, and other areas suffering from moisture deficiency. Gusts of wind pick up the sand, raise it to a height and carry it away for tens of kilometers. There is something mystical about this, especially if you observe sandstorms in the area of ​​​​the Egyptian pyramids.

A blue moon is rare, Canadians observe it when the air is excessively humid or smoky. AT last time the moon of an unusual color appeared in the sky during the forest fires and remained there for about a week. At times, its color changed to red or blue.

Every second day - a thunderstorm with discharges lasting up to 10 hours. For a year - more than a million lightning strikes, they can be seen from 400-500 km. This natural phenomenon can be observed in South America - at the place where the Catatumbo River flows into the lake. The terrain in the area is swampy, with a high content of methane. Scientists believe that gas accumulating in the atmosphere fuels lightning.

Outlines - shadow huge bear although in the mountains american state North Carolina bears are not found. Unique Phenomenon can be observed twice a year - in October-November and February-March. Not surprisingly, tourists from different countries come to America to see an unusual shadow. She only shows up for 30 minutes.

Why an eye? From a bird's eye view, this geological formation looks like a huge eye. Its dimensions are really huge - more than 50 km in diameter. Astronauts at one time navigated along it, because the eye of Africa stood out against the monotonous sandy background of the Sahara.

In Indonesia, at an altitude of 2.6 km is the volcano Kawa Ijen. It is unique with blue lava - the result of burning sulfur.

The blue flame can be seen from afar - it rises up to 5 meters. But to see this miracle of nature, tourists have to make a difficult transition along volcanic rocks, and then go down to the center of the crater. The road to the blue volcano will take about 3 hours.

Among the most unusual natural phenomena, there are the most terrible, representing a real danger to humans. The top is made up of such terrible phenomena. Moreover, it is also known about terrible phenomenon nature on the planet.

Top most terrible and unusual natural phenomena

Throughout the globe From time to time, natural phenomena occur that cannot be called habitual. We are talking about unusual terrible natural anomalies. They are dangerous to people. It's comforting to know that things like this don't happen often.

Brinicle or "Finger of Death"

In the Arctic, very unusual icicles hang under water, which pose a danger to the inhabitants ocean floor. Science has already unraveled the formation of such icicles. Salt from glaciers rushes in narrow streams to the bottom, freezing sea ​​water around you. A few hours later, such a stream, covered with a thin ice crust, begins to resemble a stalactite.

The “finger of death”, having reached the bottom, continues to spread further along the bottom. This structure is capable of destroying unhurried living organisms in fifteen minutes.

"Bloody rain"

So scary name natural phenomenon is fully justified. It was observed in the Indian state of Kerala for a month. The bloody rains horrified all the locals.

It turned out that the reason for this phenomenon is in the water tornado, which sucked the spores of red algae out of the reservoirs. Mixed with rainwater, these spores fell on people in the form of a bloody rain.

"Black Day"

In September 1938, an inexplicable natural phenomenon occurred on Yamal, which has remained unsolved to this day. Suddenly, the day became as dark as the night.

Geologists who have witnessed such a phenomenon have described it as a sudden darkness with simultaneous radio silence. They, running several flares, we saw that very dense, not passing sunlight, clouds. This eclipse lasted no more than an hour.

"Black mist"

A mist with this name shrouds London from time to time. It is known that it was recorded in 1873 and in 1880. At that time, almost nothing was visible on the streets, people could only move by holding on to the walls of houses.

In the days when the black fog enveloped the city, the death rate of its inhabitants increased many times over. This is due to the fact that it is extremely difficult to breathe in such a fog, even wearing a tight gauze bandage. "Deadly" fog visited the British capital for the last time in 1952.

fire tornadoes

The top most terrible natural phenomena include fire tornadoes. It is known that tornadoes themselves are very dangerous, but if they are associated with fire, their danger increases dramatically.

These phenomena occur in places of fires, when scattered foci are combined into a single large bonfire. The air above it heats up, its density decreases, because of this, the fire rises. This pressure of hot air sometimes reaches hurricane speed.

Fireball

There is no person who has never heard thunder or seen lightning. However, we will talk about ball lightning, which is a discharge electric current. Such lightning is able to take various forms.

Ball lightning most often looks like red or yellow fireballs. They defy the laws of physics, appearing quite unexpectedly in the cabin of a flying plane or inside a house. Lightnings hover in the air for several seconds, after which they disappear without a trace.

Sandstorm

Impressive but extremely dangerous phenomenon nature - sandstorm. Sandstorm demonstrates the power and strength of mother nature. Such storms occur in deserts. Once in a storm, you can die, suffocating with sand.

A sandstorm is caused by the strongest air flow. No less than forty million tons of sand and dust are transported from the Sahara desert to the Nile basin every year.

Tsunami

Such a natural phenomenon as a tsunami is a consequence of an earthquake. formed somewhere, a big wave moving at high speed, sometimes reaching thousands of kilometers per hour.

Once in shallow water, such a wave grows by ten to fifteen meters. Rushing ashore at great speed, the tsunami carries away thousands human lives, brings a lot of destruction.

The website site has detailed and other large and destructive waves.

Tornado

A funnel-shaped stream of air is called a tornado. Tornadoes are more common in the United States, both over water and over land. From the side, the tornado resembles a cone-shaped cloud column. The diameter can be tens of meters. The air moves inside it in a circle. Objects that get inside also begin to move. Sometimes the speed of such movement reaches a hundred kilometers per hour. The most terrible natural phenomenon in the world is an earthquake.

Behind last decade Seven hundred and eighty thousand people died as a result of earthquakes. Shocks occurring inside the earth cause oscillations earth's crust. They can spread over vast areas. As a result of the most strong earthquakes Entire cities are wiped off the face of the earth, thousands of people die.
Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen