Mysterious lights were spotted in the sky before Morocco’s devastating earthquake hit last week – and scientists don’t know what caused them

• Footage of strange blue lights has arisen following Morocco’s tragic earthquake 
• Experts say the glow may be a rare phenomenon called ‘earthquake lights’ 

Strange videos have arisen in the aftermath of Morocco’s devastating earthquake, showing mysterious lights in the sky before the tremor hit. 

Blue lights were seen flashing above Agadir at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, hours before the 6.8 magnitude tremor struck. 

While the clips have not been verified, the unexplained sightings have baffled onlookers, with some suggesting that a UFO or lightning could be to blame.

Another possible explanation could be ‘earthquake lights’ – a rare phenomenon believed to take place in times of seismic stress.

However, no one knows for sure if earthquake lights even exist, or what causes them. 

Footage of strange blue lights has arisen following Morocco’s devastating earthquake

WHAT ARE EARTHQUAKE LIGHTS? 

These unusual lights are thought to take place amidst the changes that occur to Earth’s magnetic field during an earthquake or volcanic eruption.

Scientists theorise that electric charges in rocks at the crust ionise air molecules as they come to the surface.

This reaction is believed to generate the strange lights, but much remains unexplained.  

‘The [Morocco] earthquake happened at nighttime,’ geophysicist Dr Friedemann Freund told The Washington Post.

‘The condition for earthquake lights to be seen by people and maybe even recorded by cameras would be relatively high.’

Long believed to be a myth, these unusual lights are thought to take place amid the changes that occur to Earth’s magnetic field during an earthquake or volcanic eruption.

The lights can take a variety of forms, whether it be a pink sphere of light or four-inch ‘flames’ above the pavement.

The latter was said to have occurred in Italy’s historic city of L’Aquila just seconds before an earthquake struck in 2009.

Meanwhile, a bright purple globe of light reportedly moved along the sky near the St. Lawrence River in Quebec in 1988, 11 days before a powerful quake. 

In 2014, Dr Friedemann and his colleagues studied 65 unexplained reports of these lights from as far back as 1600.

Geologists say the 6.8 magnitude tremor was the biggest quake to hit the heart of the country in more than 120 years

Rescuers are still searching for survivors, with some in remote areas forced to dig with their bare hands because heavy lifting machinery can’t get to them

They found that 85 per cent took place near breaks in the Earth’s crust, commonly referred to as ‘rifts’.

Most sightings also took place before or during an earthquake but rarely ever after.  

This pattern has led scientists to believe that a build-up of seismic stress is the key driver of earthquake lights. 

They theorise that ‘activated’ electric charges in rocks at the crust ionise air molecules as they come to the surface.

This reaction is believed to generate the strange lights almost like a battery, but much still remains a mystery.

‘It’s one of the very few documented accounts of someone acting on the presence of earthquake lights,’ said Robert Thériault of the Ministère des Ressources Naturelles of Québec, who worked on the study.     

‘Earthquake lights as a pre-earthquake phenomenon, in combination with other types of parameters that vary prior to seismic activity, may one day help forecast the approach of a major quake.’

READ MORE: Where did the Morocco earthquake hit? Map reveals the epicentre was in the High Atlas Mountains 

This map reveals the epicentre of the deadly Morocco earthquake, which killed over 2,500 people and injured thousands more when it struck last Friday.

Geologists said the 6.8 magnitude tremor was the biggest quake to hit the heart of the country in more than 120 years and the deadliest in six decades.

Where the earthquake struck: This map reveals the epicentre of the deadly Morocco quake, which killed over 2,500 people and injured thousands more when it struck last Friday

Source: Read Full Article