Mysterious Flashes in the sky

[ballaratdragons]

At 3:40 am I went outside and saw what I believed was a lightning flash. Then another, then another. They seemed too ordered for lightning, and there was no thunder, so I started timing them.

They were exactly 8 seconds apart! Then it changed to 14 seconds apart for about 2 minutes, then 10 seconds apart for the next 10 minutes then stopped altogether!!!!

There was no aircraft around, the air was deadly silent.

It lit up the whole sky from horizon to horizon in every direction in pure white flashes lasting only milliseconds each. :shrug:
The whole event lasted about 15 minutes.

While writing this, I have just been outside again to check that it has finished and noticed 3 more flashes exactly 50 seconds apart, then a strange light on the thin cloud moved about 1/4 the way across the sky like a fast moving search light, but not lit from the ground. It was lit from above the cloud.

This does not seem to be associated with the thunderstorms we had all day or the ones predicted to come early morning as the flashes had a definite pattern to their time intervals, not random.

Wierd!

Did anyone (silly enough to be up at this time) in Western Victoria also see this?

[jjjnettie]

Sounds a bit Twilight Zoneish Ken.
But there is always a perfectly reasonable explanation. Hope you work it out.

[Mark]

Space battle between some of those 'spaceships' shown on that website EzyStyles provided a link to....

:lol: ;)

[MikeyB]

Weather radars are showing major thunderstorm activity just off the South Australian coast overnight - presumably too far for the sound to carry to Snake Valley but perhaps not impossible for the flashes, given suitable atmospheric conditions. I'm guessing that a layer of thin cloud might carry or reflect the intense light over long distances. The timing of lightning strikes can sometimes be quite regularly periodic in my experience, I guess as a result of charge build-up time in active thunderstorm cells.

It must have been some storm though, if that's what caused the sighting! :eyepop:

[rumples riot]

More than likely tank and artillery fire at Pukka Ken. I heard that range still gets used from time to time. Could be something else though.

[ballaratdragons]

Paul, Pukapunyah is a loooooong way from here.



Mike, We had our own thunderstorms before and after these wierd flashes. Still getting thunderstorms right now in fact!

Possibly could have been very distant lightning, but the ordered timing is what struck me as wierd!!!!

[vash]

Could be somebody imaging with an DSLR and the flash on,

A few short exposures for the core of orion?,

[mill]

Ken you and your weird dreams, i dont know :screwy::eek:

[leon]

Sorry ken, but I had to have a laugh at Vash, with his explanation, good one mate. :lol: :lol:

Now seriously Ken, :confuse3: don't have a clue. :shrug:

Leon :thumbsup:

[avandonk]

Min Min lights

Bert

[xelasnave]

If one subscibes to the notion that sprites and lightning are simply the flow of energy from everywhere being interupted as it encounters the different densities of our atmosphere..as I do..one could see these flashes in that context... the "flow" from out there gets slowed up due to clouds etc and the flashes are optical evidence of such........ Now I know that will give many a laugh but it is truely the way I see it.... so have a laugh at my expence...merry christmas all
alex