Top 10 Strangest Natural Phenomena
10.
Life itself
It is truly amazing what goes on in our body.
Think about it.
You are nothing more than a random assortment of tiny molecules called atoms that individually
have no life themselves.
Then the atoms somehow find a way to make up cells, which in turn drive the processes
that allow you to live the way you do.
There is a plethora of these cells doing the same jobs over and over again at speeds we
wouldn’t even dream possible for seemingly no reason whatsoever.
Why do they do this and what made them do this?
These questions stem off from the general philosophical questions that have been bothering
us since the beginning of time: “Why are we here?
How are we here?
And who or what did this?”
9.
Spontaneous human combustion
Spontaneous human combustion is probably the most controversial natural phenomenon.
Spontaneous combustion has been known to occur in other animals and such incidents have been
observed and recorded.
Spontaneous combustion is defined as the burning of the human body without an external source
of ignition, in other words, you explode for no reason whatsoever.
Evidence for this strange occurrence includes shrunken organs of the human body with clothing
still attached, and several theories have been created.
One theory is the “wick effect,” which states that your clothing can absorb melted
human fats and thus can act like the wick of a candle.
Scary, huh?
8.
Fire Rainbow
The circumhorizontal arc, or the fire rainbow, is an optical phenomenon caused by the refraction
of sunlight through thick, flat, horizontal ice crystals in cirrus clouds.
Atmospheric conditions have to be very specific and perfect, and it can only be observed in
certain locations of the world.
To get an idea of just how truly complicated things have to be for it to form, check out
this quote from Wikipedia: “In order to be observed, the sun must be very high in
the sky, at an elevation of 57.8° (90 -32.2°) or more, and can only occur in the presence
of cirrus clouds.
As a result it cannot be observed at locations north of 55°N or south of 55°S, although
occasionally at higher latitudes from mountains.
In areas of Northern Europe it can only be observed around the time of the Summer solstice.
If cloud conditions are right it is seen along the horizon on the same side of the sky as
the sun.
It reaches its maximum intensity at a sun elevation of 67.9° .” Has it really been
photographed?
7.
Lucid Dreaming
Not all strange things occur in nature, but they sometimes can occur in ourselves.
But what about the mind?
Lucid dreaming occurs when someone becomes aware that they are dreaming while in the
dream.
While it may not sound so special on paper, imagine the endless possibilities of being
able to have full control of your imagination.
Some people have even flown in their dreams and all of them say it is one of the thrilling
experiences of their lives.
6.
Moonbow
Everyone knows the rainbow and just how beautiful it is, but what about its not-so-distant and
not-so-pretty cousin the moonbow?
Moonbows are created when droplets of water combine with mists made from waterfalls to
provide the perfect medium to produce this phenomenon.
Because the moon is not nearly as bright as the sun, moonbows are much harder to see than
rainbows, but when you do, it is a sight to behold.
5.
Ball Lightning
Ball lightning does not look like regular lightning.
Instead it takes the form of a glowing sphere drifting horizontally through the air.
It can vary in size from a minuscule pea to a large bus.
No real theories have been formed and yet at least five percent of the total population
has seen ball lightning in some point of time.
4.
Aurora Borealis
Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful events to occur in our world, the Aurora Borealis,
also known as the Northern Lights, has both astounded and amazed people since it was first
discovered.
It is much easier to stare at the phenomenon and enjoy its beauty than to understand why
exactly it occurs.
Here’s the “concise” explanation from http://finland.fi/finfo/English/aurora_borealis.html:“‘The
sun gives off high-energy charged particles (also called ions) that travel out into space
at speeds of 300 to 1200 kilometres per second.
A cloud of such particles is called a plasma.
The stream of plasma coming from the sun is known as the solar wind.
As the solar wind interacts with the edge of the earth’s magnetic field, some of the
particles are trapped by it and they follow the lines of magnetic force down into the
ionosphere, the section of the earth’s atmosphere that extends from about 60 to 600 kilometers
above the earth’s surface.
When the particles collide with the gases in the ionosphere they start to glow, producing
the spectacle that we know as the auroras, northern and southern.’”
3.
Sprites
Sprites are large scale high-energy electrical discharges that occur above thunderstorm clouds.
They are caused by the discharges of positive lightning between a thunderstorm and the ground
and give rise to a large variety of bright and unusual visual shapes.
Sprites have been reported since 1886 but only last for a few milliseconds and are very
rare, so there are few photographs and videos of them.
2.
Green Flashes
Sometimes, when the sun sets or rises, the top edge of that sun will appear to be a bright
green, but one usually has to see it through a distant horizon.
Atmospheric conditions have to be nearly perfect with no clouds all the way down to the horizon.
It may last for around a second this phenomenon is called a green flash, and it is caused
by a certain refraction of light in the atmosphere.
You can learn more about what causes green flashes here: http://www.exo.net/~pauld/physics/atmospheric_optics/green_flash.html
1.
The Taos Hum
The Taos Hum is a low-frequency humming noise that occurs frequently in Taos, New Mexico.
Similar hums like the Taos Hum have been reported all over the world and have been attributed
to sounds caused by machines or other industrial-related things.
The thing that makes the Taos Hum so special that it deserves a spot on this list is that
no one has ever found the source of the hum, and what’s even more interesting is that
the sound is often intensified and much louder in buildings but is only heard by around 2
percent of the population.