Green fireballs and ball lightning

(2011) Green fireballs and ball lightning. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 467(2129), pp. 1427-1448.

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Image of a green fireball over Brisbane CBD (Image: JPEG 655kB)
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Image of fireball fragmenting over Brisbane (Image: JPEG 15kB)
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Image of very bright fireball over Brisbane.
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Image of fireball trail over Gold Coast.
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Drawing of fireball travelling north by David Sawell (Image: JPEG 337kB)
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[img] Channel 7 news report on the Queensland fireball (Video: MP4 6MB)
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Description

This paper presents evidence of an apparent connection between ball lightning and a green fireball. On the evening of the 16th May 2006 at least three fireballs were seen by many people in the skies of Queensland, Australia. One of the fireballs was seen passing over the Great Divide about 120 km west of Brisbane, and soon after, a luminous green ball about 30 cm in diameter was seen rolling down the slope of the Great Divide. A detailed description given by a witness indicates that the phenomenon was probably a highly luminous form of ball lightning. An hypothesis presented in this paper is that the passage of the Queensland fireball meteor created an electrically conductive path between the ionosphere and ground, providing energy for the ball lightning phenomenon. A strong similarity is noted between the Queensland fireball and the Pasamonte fireball seen in New Mexico in 1933. Both meteors exhibit a twist in the tail that could be explained by hydrodynamic forces. The possibility that multiple sightings of fireballs across South East Queensland were produced owing to fragments from comet 73P Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is discussed.

Impact and interest:

7 citations in Scopus
3 citations in Web of Science®
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ID Code: 38939
Item Type: Contribution to Journal (Journal Article)
Refereed: Yes
Measurements or Duration: 22 pages
Keywords: ball lightning, blue jets, bolts from the blue, corona discharge, green fireballs, meteors, sprites
DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2010.0409
ISSN: 1364-5021
Pure ID: 32061464
Divisions: Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Faculty of Science and Technology
Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Science & Engineering Faculty
Current > Research Centres > Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation
Copyright Owner: Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters
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Deposited On: 01 Dec 2010 03:20
Last Modified: 08 Feb 2025 08:23