BALL LIGHTNING
Reports of ball lightning go back centuries, yet it remains a mystery to science. Although it’s associated with thunderstorms, it differs from a normal lightning flash in lasting several seconds. Also, as the name suggests, it takes the form of a small sphere. Despite the consistency of eyewitness accounts, unambiguous photographs are scarce, and numerous scientific explanations have been put forward. Some of these have been shown to produce effects similar to ball lightning under laboratory conditions, but it’s not yet clear which theory – if any – is correct.