It's hard to believe, but there are natural phenomena that scientists still cannot explain. Such as, balls of electricity appearing in the sky, or the random movement of rocks without the help of a person or animal. Will we ever know the answers to these enigmatic ? May be! But, now, these 25 unusual natural phenomena remain a mystery to science.
solar corona
Millions of kilometers in space belong to the corona, which acts as an aura of plasma and surrounds the Sun. This is something that scientists cannot explain. And why the solar corona has a higher temperature than the visible surface of the Sun. While the average temperature of the Sun's surface is about 5800 Kelvin, the corona reaches a burning temperature of one to three million Kelvin.
Animal migration
Animal migration occurs in virtually all large animal groups, including birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and insects. Scientists are baffled by the fact that these animals venture on such amazing journeys and not go astray? There have been many theories about this natural phenomenon, but the true cause remains unknown.
Sound anomalies or abnormal sound phenomena in nature
There are several places known for hum, a phenomenon described as a persistent and invasive low-frequency hum, rumbling, noise, or buzz from an unknown source. One of them in the city of Taos, New Mexico is probably the most famous. Even more puzzling is the fact that only 2% of Taos' locals can hear it. Regardless of the origin of the strange sound, for those who can hear it, it is extremely disturbing.
Jellyfish disappeared from Jellyfish Lake
Located on the island of Eil Malk in Palau, Jellyfish Lake is a marine lake that connects to the ocean through a network of cracks and tunnels. Every day, millions of jellyfish migrate across the lake, and between 1998 and 2000, all golden jellyfish disappeared from the lake. There are many theories regarding this phenomenon, but scientists are still not sure of the exact cause.
ice circles
Also known as ice disks, ice circles are a very rare natural phenomenon that occurs in slow moving waters at freezing temperatures. Scientists don't know exactly how ice circles form, but they are thought to form in eddy currents where the plates rotate. thin ice and gradually freeze together. The diameter of the circles can vary greatly from a few centimeters to 15 meters or more.
Big Foot
For decades, people have been watching the large human-type hairy creature known as the Yeti or Bigfoot. While the vast majority of scientists are skeptical of its existence, there are a few experts who believe Bigfoot actually exists. Proponents speculate that it may be a relic population of Gigantopithecus, a giant ape that lived 9 million years ago.
Hurricane on Saturn
In 2013, a huge hurricane was spotted on Saturn by NASA spacecraft orbiting the planet. The eye of the storm was about 2000 kilometers in diameter and crossed the clouds at a speed of 530 kilometers per hour. On Earth, hurricanes feed on warm oceans, but Saturn lacks oceans to create such a giant storm.
Monarch butterflies migration
We have already talked about the miracle of animal migrations, but there is one animal whose annual migration is especially impressive. The monarch butterfly lives only half a year, which means that the butterflies that return are the children of those who made the first migration. Never migrating, how can they know where to fly? Researchers have proposed many theories, and a group of researchers have identified the butterfly's antenna as a vital body part for successful migration. However, the accuracy of this theory remains to be determined.
Animal Rain
In history, several strange cases have been recorded of animals falling from the sky. For example, in the summer of 2000 in Ethiopia, it rained millions of fish, some of which were dead, while others were still moving with all their might. Most of these "animal" rains occur in tornadoes or other types of violent storms capable of lifting and carrying objects and water, but there is one striking fact - it usually rains from one type of animal. It can be rain only from herring or a special kind of frog.
Fireballs Naga
Like ball lightning, Naga fireballs are an unusual natural phenomenon. According to an unconfirmed source, they were seen on the Mekong River in Thailand and Laos, where glowing reddish balls allegedly rose from the water. There have been several attempts to scientifically explain Naga fireballs, but so far, there is no definitive explanation for this phenomenon.
Zone of Silence
Mapimi "Zone of Silence" refers to the desert patch in Durango, Mexico, and is an extremely quiet place where strange phenomena occur. In 1970, a test missile launched from a US military base near Green River, Utah lost control and crashed in this area. Parts of the booster used for the Apollo project also disintegrated and landed in the same area, as well as the world's largest carbon chondrites. Or maybe this is a coincidence?
Flashes of light during an earthquake
For centuries, people have observed strange, mostly white or bluish flashes that precede major earthquakes. The lights were typically only a few seconds long. The first photos of this phenomenon were recorded after the 1960s. Since then, scientists have begun to take this phenomenon seriously and have created many theories about the origin of light flashes, involving piezoelectricity, frictional heating, and electrokinetics.
volcanic light
Scientists have found that similar volcanic light is observed before an earthquake and occurs in areas where a large volcanic eruption is about to occur. Recent research suggests that light may be caused by elements that energize rocks' natural electrical charge, causing them to sparkle and glow.
moon illusion
We have all noticed that when the Moon is on the horizon, it seems to be much larger than when it is high in the sky. But try a small experiment (like with a coin) at arm's length with one eye closed, place it next to a high moon, and then a big moon on the horizon, and you will see that the size of the moon relative to the coin will be the same in both cases. .
Synchronous blinking fireflies
Living in the Great Smoky Mountains (National Park), synchronous fireflies are the only fireflies in America that can synchronize their blinking. Fireflies glow in sync for several weeks each year, but the reason for this behavior remains unknown.
Cat purring
Did you know that a cat's purr is one of the most mysterious sounds in the animal kingdom? Scientists study not only the origin of sound, but also its causes. Cats often purr when being petted or while resting, but they also purr when eating and sometimes even during childbirth. In this way, main reason why cats purr remains unknown.
Singing humpback whales
Male humpback whales can make long and very complex "sounds" that were once thought necessary to attract females, but studies have shown that the sound often attracts other males. In addition, individuals can recognize each other's songs and distribute them to other populations. So the singing of humpback whales remains a mystery.
Origin of the Universe
V modern world, the Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model for the birth of the universe. She claims that about 14 billion years ago, all of space was contained in a single point from which the universe emerged. However, the theory does not provide any explanation for the initial conditions of the universe - it only describes and explains the overall evolution of the universe that has started from that moment on. But what was there before that? We do not know.
Bermuda Triangle
If there is a place known for the occurrence of mysterious phenomena and strange events that scientists cannot figure out, it is the Bermuda Triangle. In this region in the western North Atlantic, a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Scientists tend to attribute the disappearances to several coincidences, such as terrible weather, ocean currents, human error, and even methane bubbles.
Loch Ness monster
The Loch Ness Monster is a mystery somewhat similar to Sasquatch. There were many sightings of the creature, but most of them were found to be false. However, there is some speculation that a Scottish lake may be home to a relic plesiosaur, an extinct marine reptile believed to have died around 66 million years ago. Plesiosaurs were once abundant in the area where Britain is today, but the likelihood that some individuals secretly survived is close to zero.
witch circles
Found in the arid grasslands of western South Africa, witch circles are circular patches of barren land. Usually found with monospecific herbaceous vegetation, circles vary in diameter from 2 to 15 m. The origin and history of fairy circles has long been a puzzle, and even today, scientists do not know exactly how they appeared. One favorite assumption is that termites are responsible for the circles, but the area of the phenomenon is much wider than that of termites.
moving stones
Also known as sliding or crawling rocks, they refer to an amazing geological phenomenon in which rocks move and create long paths along a smooth valley without human or animal intervention. There have even been instances of stones flipping over, turning side and changing direction. The origin of this phenomenon has not been determined, but scientists speculate that the movement may be caused by strong winds pushing the stone over a thin layer of clay.
Whales aground
Every year, up to 2,000 whales throw themselves onto the beach, and in most cases they die. It is also known that they have used this strange method of "suicide" for at least thousands of years. Numerous theories have been proposed as to why they do this, but none of them have been convincing enough to be true.
Ball lightning
Ball lightning is probably the most famous unexplained electrical phenomenon. The term refers to glowing, spherical objects that range in diameter from a pea to several meters in diameter. Ball lightning is commonly associated with thunderstorms, but lasts much longer than regular lightning. The phenomenon has been the subject of research since 1834, the English physician and explorer William Snow Harris introduced the concept to the scientific field, but even now there is no generally accepted explanation for ball lightning.
The lights of the Hessdalen valley
Since the 1940s or even earlier, a strange light has been recorded in the Hessdalen Valley, Norway. This natural phenomenon is white or yellow in color and has an unknown origin. Between 1981 and 1984, the lights were observed up to 20 times a week, but since then, the activity has decreased and now the lights are observed about 10-20 times a year. Despite ongoing research and numerous working hypotheses, there is no conclusive explanation for the origin of these lights.
Every corner of our planet is full of its own unique wonders. For example, many of you have probably heard about the northern lights, and some even admire them regularly. But there are phenomena in the world that are hidden somewhere in the distant jungle or in the depths of the oceans, accessible only to a very few observers.
Some of these phenomena are sometimes inherent only in the most remote places on Earth, but in our time you have a chance to look beyond reality thanks to the Internet and the most courageous researchers who open the veils of the most incredible secrets and wonders. However, sometimes something completely unique can be found even in your backyard. The main thing is to be attentive and curious.
10 Spotted Lake
There is one very unusual lake in Canada. On the face of it, it resembles children's drawing or the skin of a spotted salamander, and such a place would look great in the illustrations for Lewis Carroll's story of Alice in Wonderland. However, it exists in reality, so we do not need children's books. Spotted Lake Khiluk is located near the town of Osoyoos in British Columbia, and this is a very unusual body of water, as you might have guessed. The surface of the lake is covered with gigantic bright spots that change their color depending on the composition of the water and the season, turning either yellow or dark blue.
The explanation for this phenomenon lies in the fact that Spotted Lake (or Spotted Lake, Spotted Lake) actually consists of several small ponds that contain a lot of calcium, magnesium sulfate and other minerals. It turns out that this lake does have the highest concentration of minerals in the world. The local water is so saturated that during the First World War, raw materials for the military industry were even mined here. On the hottest summer days, the Khiluk water is concentrated into giant circles (for some reason, each time there are exactly 365 of them), and the salts crystallize and form real bridges between these multi-colored spots. At other times of the year, the surface of the lake is no different from any other body of water.
Native Canadian Indians of the Okanagan tribe value this unique spring for its healing properties and consider this place sacred. In the 1970s, a spa resort was almost built here, but this was avoided. Now Pyatnistoe is surrounded by a fence and is protected by law. However, you can see incredible spots on the surface of the water even from afar, because they are quite large and bright.
9. Ocean in the sky
Photo: thoughtco.com
Restless waves are usually associated with the seas and oceans, but not everyone knows that they can also be in the sky.
Soaring at high altitudes, these Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds are a true masterpiece of nature. Air waves are formed when two air currents of different speeds collide, and in appearance this spectacle resembles the formation of waves in the ocean that we are familiar with.
The basis of these clouds is horizontal and flat, and the distance between the air waves is usually almost the same. Most often, the phenomenon occurs in windy weather, when different layers of air are more likely to meet in the same place. The fastest top layer transforms clouds into bizarre waves as warm air rises above cold air.
The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is a short-lived phenomenon, and due to the speed of air currents and the influence of different temperatures, the cloudy sea soon dissipates, leaving only memories of itself.
8. Murmuration
The photo in front of you is not a cloud or a flock of flies at all. These are thousands of birds gathered in one orderly flock, and showing true stunts of aerobatics in the air. unusual shapes and the size of such bird art can amaze any casual viewer, and this phenomenon is not so common, and starlings usually become the main characters of a kind of air dance.
Starlings are a fairly common species of songbirds. They feed on seeds and insects, and these beautiful emerald-black-feathered birds are often considered pests because they can devastate entire agricultural fields and sometimes fly at the same heights as airplanes.
Yes, yes, these little birds are excellent proof that strength is in numbers. Starting in autumn, flocks of many thousands of starlings unite to perform murmuration, a special process in which each bird becomes part of a large figure. The record number of starlings participating in murmuring was recorded in 1999 in Somerset (UK). Then over 6 million feathered dancers united in the sky.
Murmuration is usually associated with a collective search for a place to sleep in the evening, when dusk is already falling on the ground. This spectacle looks literally hypnotic, but the main goal of starlings, of course, is far from impressing casual observers. The intricate aerial dance is actually a unique security system. It is usually more difficult for predators to focus their attention on one particular prey among thousands of starlings when all together they perform such intricate synchronized maneuvers. In addition, the larger the colony, the warmer its members will sleep in the cold season. Well, another advantage of such large flocks is a great opportunity for socialization and exchange of information about where you can find food, for example.
Starlings have excellent flight and orientation skills, so mid-air collisions are out of the question. They need no more than 100 milliseconds to react, and this time is enough to calculate the speed and direction of the surrounding birds and avoid discord or crush in the sky. Their ability to adapt and adjust to the general pace is so developed that such dynamic and curly flocks can fly at a speed of 32 kilometers per hour!
7. Striped icebergs
Photo: amusingplanet.com
Antarctica is famous for its snow-white icebergs, charming glaciers and mysterious caves. Although sometimes the white color of this permafrost desert is diluted with strange stripes of black, brown, yellow and blue colors.
In appearance, such ice floes resemble giant marble slabs, but in fact they are icebergs. Patterns only occur when a cracked piece of freshwater ice comes into contact with salt sea water. Unlike fresh water, the sea contains a large amount of minerals and all kinds of sediments (sediment, small particles), and when it freezes into ice, then these amazing stripes appear from the photograph. An iceberg is formed under the influence of waves and wind, and multi-colored inserts continue to appear in new places, depending on the location of the ice block relative to the surface of sea water.
Blue streaks usually occur when water freezes into a crack so quickly that even bubbles do not have time to appear. If there is a lot of algae in the water, green rings already appear.
6. Fields and forests covered with a spider web
Photo: Science Daily
At first glance, it may seem that these trees are as if covered with a giant dusty net, or even rather a huge blanket of translucent silk. In fact, the road, the grass, and the trees are captured by a real cobweb, twisted by thousands of tiny spiders, which left this place in such a form as if a horror film about a haunted house was filmed here.
The giant web sometimes stretches for tens of meters in length, and the appearance of such canvases is usually associated with floods or prolonged downpours, after which the spiders have to flee and seek shelter away from the water. To climb higher, these insects release thin threads that are woven into webs, which are then blown away by the wind like balloons filled with warm gas. During such web journeys, thousands of tiny arachnids fly across the fields, landing anywhere, and frightening unfortunate passers-by, if any, are encountered on their way.
In some cases, the nets stretch for several hundred meters (up to 800) and are so dense that you certainly would not want to wade through them. The phenomenon is found all over the world, including the US, Australia, UK and Pakistan. Sometimes the spiders can't fly far enough because the wind spins their webs around the same trees, turning the area into a real spider kingdom from your worst nightmares.
5. Fire rainbows (near-horizontal)
Photo: National Geographic
Fiery rainbows are a delightful sight, reminiscent of the span of angel wings in the middle of heaven. Unlike the more familiar rainbow, near-horizontal halos appear much less frequently and require more specific conditions to form. For the appearance of a fiery rainbow, cirrus clouds are necessary, which are usually observed only in the upper layers of the troposphere. In addition, the sun must be above 58 degrees above the horizon, otherwise you will not see a light show.
But that's not all. Ice crystals inside cirrus clouds must be of a specific shape (flat hexagonal) and located in a strictly defined way - the widest plane "look" down to the ground. If all these conditions are met, the sun's rays are refracted in ice floes, as in a prism, and this whole process provides a spectral separation of colors, which is expressed in the form of a rainbow of incomparable beauty.
4. Desert roses
Photo: geologyin.com
No, these are not fossilized flowers, they are crystals, and such formations are usually found only in dry and sandy areas. In the famous Sahara desert, unique roses are usually formed from gypsum disks or barite crystals, and it takes about tens of hundreds of years for the appearance of forms resembling a rose inflorescence.
"Flower" crystals are formed during the evaporation of water in the form of flat plates, the diameter of which in some cases reaches tens of centimeters (up to 1 meter). Clusters of sand crystals are often collected in whole "bouquets". The largest single rose ever encountered by researchers was 25 centimeters tall and weighed as much as 57 kilograms, while the largest sandy-crystalline bouquet weighed an incredible 454 kilograms.
Such extraordinary masterpieces of nature are rare, and for this they are very much appreciated by private collectors.
3 Tricolor Crater Lakes
Photo: curiosity.com
At the foot of the Indonesian mountain Kelimutu (Kelimutu) spilled three crater lakes, revered by the local population as the mysterious worlds into which people fall after death. It is not surprising that the islanders idolize them, because the lakes really look like unearthly portals. By the way, each of the reservoirs can change its color almost at any moment, and the Indonesians believe that in this way the water reflects the mood of the spirits of their ancestors.
The Lake of the Old Men (Tiwu Ata Mbupu) is usually blue, the Lake of Youths and Maidens (Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai) is more often green, and the Enchanted Lake (Tiwu Ata Polo) most often takes on red hues. Periodically, as if by magic, all of them are transformed and painted in white, black, brown or turquoise colors.
In the case of other multi-colored lakes of the world, the explanation of the phenomenon usually lies in the presence of a special aquatic bacterium in them and in a high level of salt concentration, but the Indonesian crater lakes have not yet revealed all their secrets to us. Scientists still disagree, but many agree that the magic of these water pools lies in the interaction of minerals and volcanic ash that penetrates into the reservoirs.
2. Bloody waterfalls of Antarctica
Photo: National Geographic
This eerie waterfall is located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. At the very source, the water of the waterfall is painted in a dark scarlet color, and when the polar explorers first saw this unique natural object, it seemed to them that in front of them was a real bloody river flowing from the bowels of an ominous glacier. Fortunately, the phenomenon is due to a much more innocuous cause.
Approximately 2 million years ago, the Taylor Glacier covered a colony of bacteria, which eventually continued to exist in the absence of sunlight and fresh air. However, even without light, heat and oxygen, these anaerobic organisms thrived and continued to thrive in some of the world's most extreme conditions.
Subsequently, a crack formed in the glacier, which became the source for a waterfall that contained an entire ecosystem. The water turns red due to the increased concentration of iron and salts in it, which at the same time explains why the bloody waterfall does not freeze and continues to flow from the glacial crack to this day - local temperatures are simply not terrible for such a nutrient-rich liquid.
1. Gray's double leaf
Photo: chemistryworld.com
The most unusual thing about these colors is their reaction to water. When the snow-white petals of Gray's double-leaf are in contact with moisture, they become literally transparent, like glass. It is not surprising that during the rains, these seemingly ordinary flowers turn into a scattering of crystals with subtle veins.
The clue lies in the structure of the petals of the double leaf. On rainy days, when water washes the petals of a flower, their light transmission increases very much, which ultimately creates the effect of transparency. When the bifolia dries, it turns white again. rare plant prefers a cool climate, blooms on wooded mountain slopes and is found in only four places worldwide - China, Japan, Sakhalin and the Appalachian mountains of North America.
By the way, the virtues of a wayward flower, its beauty and amazing reaction to water, did not go unnoticed by scientists. For example, Chinese technologists, inspired by the properties of the double leaf, began to create transparent surfaces that repel oily substances under water. The invention proved to be useful in the production of diving masks and other optical instruments.
15 most unusual natural phenomena
Most of us have seen these natural phenomena only in films or on the Discovery Channel. I represent detailed description with photographs of the most incredible natural phenomena.
1. Water bloom:
When the ocean, air, and temperature conditions permit, ocean phytoplankton reproduce fairly quickly, creating a thick, visible layer on its surface. This phenomenon, called a water bloom, looks rather unsightly during the day, but in parts of California and other places where there are bioluminescent nightlights, the water bloom is a truly spectacular sight. This species of phytoplankton glows blue when agitated, turning the dark ocean into a giant lava lamp. You can watch the waves begin to glow on impact as they ripple across the sand, and the earth begins to shine under your feet, and if you dive underwater, you will see an amazing radiance in all its glory.
2. Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence does not only occur in water. In late summer, an uncanny glow can be seen in many of the world's forests, where bioluminescent fungi grow on damp, rotting bark. Bioluminescence can be observed in different parts of the world, but the greatest diversity occurs in the tropics, where the moisture in the forests promotes the growth of fungi. A new species of glow-in-the-dark mushroom has been discovered in Sao Paulo, Brazil. If you want to admire this phenomenon, then plan to go to the forest during the wettest period and head away from light sources that can dim the faint glow.
3. Fire rainbow
Another natural phenomenon that occurs in summer is called the fire rainbow, and occurs when sunlight strikes frozen ice crystals in cirrus clouds at high altitude. Since there is no rain during a fiery rainbow, scientists prefer to call it the more accurate name of a near-horizontal arc. Since this phenomenon requires the presence of cirrus clouds, and the sun must be very high in the sky, it can often be observed at latitudes closer to the equator. In Los Angeles, conditions allow you to observe a fiery rainbow for six months of the year, and in London for about two months.
4. Pearly clouds
For those of us who are far from the equator, there are many more reasons to look at the sky. Mother-of-pearl clouds are quite rare, but most often they appear when it is still dark outside before dawn or after sunset. Due to their extremely high altitude, they reflect sunlight from below the horizon, glowing brightly for those who watch them from below. In the lower stratosphere, where mother-of-pearl clouds are located, it is so dry that it often prevents the formation of clouds, but the harsh cold of the polar nights makes it possible to see this most beautiful phenomenon. You can see mother-of-pearl clouds in winter at high latitudes, such as in Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada and very rarely in the UK.
5. Snow rollers
Snow rolls form when a thick layer of snow falls on top of the ice. At certain temperatures and wind speeds, chunks of snow can break loose and begin to curl. As they roll along the ground like winter tumbleweeds, they pick up more snow along the way. The inner layers tend to be more brittle, allowing the wind to easily blow them away, leaving large natural snow donuts. Since a certain temperature and wind speed are needed to create this effect, snow rolls are rare, but can be seen in North America and the UK.
6. Basalt columns
Natural volcanic formation - basalt columns look like they were made by man. The hexagonal columns form naturally when a thick layer of lava cools rapidly, shrinking and creating cracks in the surface of new rock formations. Unusual geological formations can be seen in all corners of the world. The most notable examples of basalt columns are Giant's Causeway in Ireland and the Devil's Postpile National Monument in California.
7. Animal Rain:
While the small town of Yoro in Honduras hosts a Fish Rain Festival every year, there are still quite a few actual eyewitnesses to the phenomenon. However, in general, such a phenomenon has been reported in different parts of the world for many centuries. Most cases of animals falling from the sky have included fish, frogs, or small aquatic animals, although there have been reports of birds, mice, and even chunks of meat falling. Although such a phenomenon is extremely rare, most cases are easily explained. The most obvious explanation is tornadoes, during which a whirlwind lifts small animals from the water, carrying them over long distances until they fall on your head. If you want to witness the rain of animals, then you should go to places close to the water during big storms.
8. Wavy clouds
Recently discovered cloud formations, the so-called wavy clouds (Asperatus clouds) are so rare that they were not included in the classification until 2009. Ominous and stormy, these clouds disintegrate rather quickly before causing a storm. As with most wavy clouds, these clouds form when eddies or oncoming air masses ruthlessly churn the lower layers of clouds, resulting in bizarre shapes and formations. Such clouds are more common on the plains in the US and can be observed in the morning or mid-afternoon during thunderstorms.
9. Green beam
The famous and elusive Green Beam is a rare meteorological phenomenon that occurs during sunrise and sunset. During these periods, the sun's light passes through large layers of the atmosphere, creating a prism effect. Of course, this explanation is not as exciting as the maritime legends that surround this phenomenon. But you can consider yourself lucky if you managed to observe this phenomenon. To see the green beam, try watching the sun rise or set on the horizon on a clear day. An ocean or prairie horizon is best suited for this purpose. The green beam lasts only a fraction of a second, so don't blink. In my opinion, this is very similar to the return of the soul from the other world in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
10. False sun
When the sun is near the horizon and there are ice crystals in the air, you may see a few bright rainbow spots on both sides of the sun. Always to the right and left of the sun along the horizon, these halos faithfully follow the sun across the sky. While this atmospheric phenomenon can happen anytime, anywhere, the effect is usually quite subtle. When sunlight passes through cirrus clouds at just the right angle, these patches become as bright as the sun. False suns are most visible when the sun is low in the sky in colder regions where there are many ice crystals in the sky.
11. Double rainbow
The same forces that lead to the formation of an ordinary rainbow can also lead to the creation double rainbow. Sometimes, sunlight is reflected in the raindrops not once, but twice, resulting in a second rainbow that is behind the brighter first rainbow. It is best to observe this phenomenon when the sky is still dark and filled with clouds, as the dark background allows you to see the more vague colors of the second rainbow.
12. Striped icebergs
Icebergs, as a rule, are not uniform. Some icebergs in the polar regions are distinguished by their color bands, standing out from the arctic whites and blues. When water on an iceberg melts and refreezes, dirt and other particles can get trapped between the new layers of ice, causing colored streaks to form on their surface. Icebergs may show several colored bands. Blue streaks appear when water enters between layers of ice and freezes so quickly that air bubbles don't have time to form. When an iceberg breaks and falls into the ocean, algae and other materials present in the water can cause green and yellow streaks to appear.
13. Lightning Catatumbo
Quite a mysterious phenomenon, the Catatumbo lightning in Venezuela is known for its continuous discharges. This incessant lightning bolt can be seen from a distance and has often been noted for its ability to aid sailors in navigation. Since Catatumbo lightning strikes about 140-160 nights a year, you have a good chance of seeing them. They occur mainly in one place - above the confluence of the Catatumbo River around Lake Maracaibo.
14. Gravitational wave
Waves occur not only in water, but also in the sky. When the air is pushed up by the more stable layer of the atmosphere, it can cause a ripple effect, just like what happens when you throw a rock into a pond. For a gravitational wave to occur, interference must occur in the atmosphere, such as the updraft of air from a thunderstorm. According to recent research, gravity waves can concentrate and intensify tornadoes, so if you happen to see them, you should first take care of the shelter.
15. Moeraki Boulders
The Moeraki Boulders are spherical stones that were naturally excavated from mudstone, a dense clayey rock on the New Zealand coast. People discovered these giants through erosion, but they acquired their spherical shape for a different reason. It is believed that boulders formed millions of years ago on the ocean floor, much like pearls formed in oysters - layers of sedimentary rocks and materials crystallized around a central core. Over the course of millions of years, they have grown to the gigantic proportions we can see today. Moeraki boulders have been found along the south coast of New Zealand, but they can also be seen in various parts of South America.
20. Lunar rainbow.
We are almost used to the usual rainbow. A lunar rainbow is much rarer than a rainbow seen in daylight. A lunar rainbow can only appear in places with high humidity and only when the moon is almost full. Pictured is a moonlit rainbow at Cumberland Falls in Kentucky.
19. Mirages
Despite their prevalence, mirages always evoke an almost mystical sense of wonder. We all know the reason for the appearance of most mirages - superheated air changes its optical properties, causing light inhomogeneities called mirages.
Halos usually occur when high humidity or severe frost - before the halo was considered a phenomenon from above, and the people expected something unusual.
17. Belt of Venus
An interesting optical phenomenon that occurs when the atmosphere is dusty is an unusual "belt" between the sky and the horizon.
16. Pearl clouds
Unusually high clouds (about 10-12 km), becoming visible at sunset.
15. Northern lights.
Appears when high-energy elementary particles collide with the Earth's ionosphere.
14. Colored Moon
When the atmosphere is dusty, high humidity, or for other reasons, the Moon sometimes looks colored. The red moon is especially unusual.
13. Biconvex clouds
An extremely rare phenomenon that appears mainly before a hurricane. Opened just 30 years ago. Also called Mammatus clouds.
12. The fires of St. Elmo.
A fairly common phenomenon caused by increased electric field strength before a thunderstorm, during a thunderstorm, and immediately after. The first witnesses of this phenomenon were sailors who observed the fires of St. Elmo on masts and other vertical pointed objects.
11. Fire whirlwinds.
Often formed during fires - they can also occur over burning haystacks.
10. Mushroom clouds.
They also form over places with elevated temperatures - over forest fires, For example.
9. Light pillars.
The nature of these phenomena is similar to the conditions that cause the appearance of a halo.
8. Diamond dust.
Frozen water droplets that scatter the light of the sun.
7. Fish, frog and other rains.
One of the hypotheses explaining the appearance of such rains is a tornado that sucks out nearby water bodies and carries their contents over long distances.
A phenomenon that occurs when ice crystals fall out of clouds that do not reach the surface of the earth, evaporating along the road.
Hurricane winds with many names. Occur when air masses move from the upper layers to the lower ones.
4. Fire rainbow.
Occurs when the sun's rays pass through high clouds.
3. Green beam.
An extremely rare phenomenon that occurs at sunset or sunrise.
2. Ball lightning.
There are many hypotheses explaining the origin of these phenomena, but none has yet been proven.
1. Optical flares and jets
Discovered only recently due to their short existence (less than a second). Occurs when hurricanes appear.
Previously, people could not explain many natural phenomena, and therefore believed in their divine origin. Now, from a scientific point of view, almost any phenomenon can be explained, but many of them still remain very mysterious, majestic and insanely beautiful. Photos of such phenomena, as well as the most unusual places on the ground are waiting for you further.
Vymeobraznye clouds. Such clouds are rare, mainly in tropical latitudes, and are associated with the formation of tropical cyclones.
Magic Circles in Namibia. Researchers of the mysterious phenomenon suggest that it is the work of sand termites.
Road of the Giants. As a result of the eruption of an ancient volcano in Northern Ireland, an area has arisen that is covered with 40,000 basalt pillars tightly adjacent to each other.
Lenticular clouds. Clouds in the north of the state of Georgia in the USA are a rather rare natural phenomenon.
Lightning Catatumbo. Sparkling flashes over water occur for 140-160 nights a year, 10 hours per night and up to 280 times in one hour.
Red crabs of Christmas Island. Every year, about 43 million land crabs move en masse to the shore of the ocean to lay their eggs. Local authorities block most of the island's roads for a week so as not to interfere with migration.
Great Blue Hole. The gigantic underwater karst funnel off the coast of Belize has a diameter of more than 300 meters and a depth of 124 meters.
Asperatus clouds. Undulatus asperatus, or rough-hilly waves. This type of clouds, which have a rather mystical image, was introduced into the classification relatively recently by the decision of the head of the Society of Cloud Researchers.
Tanzanian Lake Natron. The salt lake, which is fed by hot springs, is the only permanent breeding ground for the lesser flamingo.
Spotted lake. Canada's Lake Kliluk is the world's greatest reserve of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium.
"Gates of hell" in Turkmenistan. The fire at the gas mine, which broke out due to the awkward actions of researchers in 1971, has not subsided to this day.
Spherical boulders of New Zealand. Under the influence of erosion, boulders with regular rounded outlines emerge from the argillic rocks of the shore.
Flammable ice bubbles. Trapped in the ice of Abraham Lake in Canada, methane bubbles.
Frozen flowers. On the calm waters of lakes and seas, when the surface is only just seized by a light crust of ice, in conditions of sharp cooling (about -22 Celsius), crystals of fresh ice of marvelous form appear.
Mud storms. Mud storms occur when lightning appears in a volcanic plume.
Moving stones of Death Valley. In a deserted American valley, a unique geological phenomenon is observed: fragments of rocks move unaided over smooth soil, leaving long trails behind them.
underwater circles. Off the coast of Japan, dexterous male puffer fish create perfectly even circles with openwork edges. These works of art are designed to charm and attract females.
Migration of monarch butterflies. Covering thousands of kilometers, dense flocks of butterflies move briskly from Canada towards the southern United States.
Black Sun. Up to 50 thousand starlings huddle in the sky in huge chirping flocks. This phenomenon is also called "murmuring".
Blooming desert. In the years when the rains in Chile are more abundant than usual, the Atacama Desert is covered with flowers and herbs.
Bioluminescent waves on the Maldivian beaches. Some species of phytoplankton have the ability to luminesce.
Rainbow eucalyptus. This is because the eucalyptus sheds its bark in chunks. Each piece of the trunk successively turns blue, purple, orange, and then maroon.
Sardine move. From May to July, schools of billions of sardines move north along the east coast of South Africa.
