Get this... Flying Face Scratcher beasts that glow brightly and fly sideways through the night air are scratching people in the face in India. Its gotten so bad that people are dying now... But not from the alien Face Scratchers: from rioting at the police for not doing anything about them:"Residents of Uttar Pradesh state have reported being attacked by a strange and brightly-lit object that appears in the night and flies sideways, leaving its victims with scratch marks on their faces. The first reports of attacks by the muhnochwa (literally, something that scratches the face) came from rural areas in Mirzapur district, but the real panic began when nearby townspeople began claiming similar attacks."So whats the rational explanation they've come up with? Well:"Scientists at the institute on Tuesday gave a more reasoned assessment, saying the phenomenon was being caused by balls of lightning which are being produced due to the extremely dry conditions existing in the drought-hit state. "The phenomena of lightning balls are older than life on earth," one researcher, Ravindra Arora, told AFP. "There is evidence of these balls over the ages," Dr Arora said. "Reports about these have been received from different parts of Europe and the United States. The highest frequency has been reported from New Zealand." In all cases, people see a ball-like object in the night emitting different colours and traveling sideways, he said. The ball can produce about 100 watts of electricity and, when it hits a person's body, especially the face, it can cause rashes and a burning sensation, he said."http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/20/1029114105359.htmlFlying balls of lightening? Now I too have heard of the possibility throughout my readings, but never have I heard of anyone actually seeing them - they are widely used by governments to explain UFO sightings, for instance. You'd think with all the pilots in this world, some reading this, flying balls of 100 watt lightning would have been reported and known as something to actively ... um... avoid on takeoff if this were real.Anyone ever seen one or heard of someone whos seen one? Or should I continue to believe in Flying Face Scratchers (FFS objects) as I always have?Elrond

http://www.unmuseum.org/foo.htmAnd you're right...this is a "wierd" one.Best!bt

Elrond, I have never personally experienced anything like this and I have never heard of the stories of these balls of electricity just floating around in thin air. However, when I used to be a technician on B-52's, I did hear stories about some crews experiencing floating balls of electricity inside the plane while flying in close vicinity of electrical storms. Something about a large build-up of static electricity or something like that. Supposedly these things could just float throughtout the cabin and you did well to just stay away from them. But like I said, they are stories to me and not personal experience.

Scott,It's called Ball Lightning, and it's been documented. It's like a ball of super-engergized plasma. It'll either hit something, be grounded and blow out, or fade away as the energy disipates.I've seen it once in a big storm myself, right after lightning hit a power pole and blew out a transformer. It was hauling straight out of the transformer explosion, eventually disappearing into the rain.It's very cool - and very rare.

I had ball-lightning in my house...I was not there though. My parents, sister and 2 cats were in the living room with windows open and door on the other side of the room open. There was a thunderstorm outside and they saw a small bright ball enter through the window and go towards the door but halfway in the room it made 'thundeer' my cats probably lost half of their hair and about 7 lives nad my sister adn parents were deafened for a few seconds after that. It all happened within less then one second. Scary.....Take careMike

Thanks Braun... I thought that subject line might get your attention. :-)Through the link you provided, I found some great information on ball lightning. I'm going to try that microwave trick tonight and see if I can create some of my own... So, if I never write anything here at AVSIM again, I guess we know what happened. :-lolThanks again,Elrondhttp://members.rogers.com/eelvish/Boycott-RIAA.jpeg]"A musician without the RIAA, is like a fish without a bicycle."[/font://http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/B...cle."[/b][/font://http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/B...cle."[/b][/font

Geez Scott... Thats bizarre. As if war or the possibility of war wasn't bad enough, they had to deal with ball lightning floating through the craft? Good lord.Thanks for the info,Elrondhttp://members.rogers.com/eelvish/Boycott-RIAA.jpeg]"A musician without the RIAA, is like a fish without a bicycle."[/font://http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/B...cle."[/b][/font://http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/B...cle."[/b][/font

Hey Mike,"Scary....."Uhhh, thats an understatement! I guess its a lot more prevalent than I had thought... You said the windows were open, but was the one the ball lightning came through open as well? From the link that Braun gave, I've been reading up on ball lightning. Looks like it can travel through solid walls and windows too...Take care,Elrondhttp://members.rogers.com/eelvish/Boycott-RIAA.jpeg]"A musician without the RIAA, is like a fish without a bicycle."[/font://http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/B...cle."[/b][/font://http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/B...cle."[/b][/font