Min Min light

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Min Min Light is an unexplained light seen in central Australia.

1 Example
2 Theories
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Example

Almost every single winter during the 1950s a strange phenomenon revisited Della Lanahan's sheep and cattle farm in Queensland, Australia. Described as 'a light that circled the yard a few feet above the ground, flaring to a diameter of almost 15 feet'. It collapsed to a tiny, dull red glow when Lanahan shot at it, but soon afterwards brightened and expanded again. After around an hour the light shrank again and disappeared, then reappeared in the distance and darted out of sight.

This account was among the 500 or so collected by Fred Silcock during 1993 while researching Australia's mysterious min min lights. Some people believe the lights are examples of exotic, unknown natural phenomenon, akin to feux follets, will o' the wisp, and spooklights.

[edit] Theories

There is a strong correlation between their appearance and areas prone to micro-earthquakes which contain a mixture of faulting, seismic history, mineral deposits or bodies of water. Michael Persinger, a professor of neuroscience at Laurentian University in Canada, suggests that strain fields produced by the flexing of the earth's crust can move through an area and create magnetic and electrical effects that produce these bizarre lights.

A simpler explanation is offered by Jack Pettigrew, of the University of Queensland in Brisbane. He claims the lights are an inverted mirage. A light source over the horizon, perhaps hundreds of kilometres away, is refracted over the horizon by a layer of cold air near ground level. This is the same effect that produces the Fata Morgana.