Weather Magic
How do you find the weather today? My guess is that your answer would be one of the following: sunny, rainy, cloudy or windy. However, on several rare occasions throughout history, the weather has been anything but “normal”. In fact, it is almost magical sometimes. Read on to find out what we mean by magical weather!
The magic: Fire-like “lightning” that clings onto ships' masts, chimneys, and aircraft wings.
The real thing: It is actually the St Elmo's fire, usually blue or bluish-white, and comes in the form of a dancing flame or fireworks.
The Scientific explanation : This electrical phenomenon occurs when electric currents pass through the ships' masts, chimneys, or aircraft wings, and light is emitted. This phenomenon often happens during thunderstorms and lasts for minutes. Although it is being referred to as "fire", the St. Elmo's fire is actually not that hot –but do not attempt to touch it if you happen to see one! You do not want to get electrocuted, do you?
The trivia: The St. Elmo's fire is named after St. Elmo, the patron saint of sailors. Mediterranean Sailors prayed to St. Elmo for their safety when they go out to the seas. The St. Elmo's fire is also considered a symbol of good luck to the sailors.
The magic: Thirsty travellers who are lost in the desert suddenly see a water oasis in a distance –only to find that the oasis is actually non-existent as they move towards it.
The real thing: The water oasis is only a mirage! This is a visual phenomenon in which one sees an upturned or a distorted, wavering image of a faraway object that appears as a result of the refraction of light.
The Scientific explanation :
(DG: draw this diagram)
(1) In the heat of the sun, the sand gets heated up first, followed by the air above it. Thus, the layers of air above the sand is of different temperatures.
(2) Light rays often travel in straight lines.
(3) In this case, however, it bends from the normal as it travels through the air layers.
(4) So instead of an upright tree, the travellers will see an inverted tree –which they mistook for a pool of water since images of upside-down trees are formed only in rivers.
If you think that mirages only occur in the deserts, you are wrong. In fact, mirages
are so common that you may have actually seen one but did not realize it! I bet you have seen the Sun lying right on the horizon during sunrise or sunset when you are at the beach. Well, we all know that the Sun is high up in the sky and there is no way it can end up so low on the horizon. What you have observed, my friends, is a mirage!
The trivia: One of the prettiest mirages ever formed was called Fata Morgana and was seen in Italy. The mirage appeared as a royal town in the sky, complete with grand palaces, tall towers and royals subjects dressed in elegant white robes. This beautiful mirage was actually a reflection of a small fishing village!
The magic: It is suddenly raining cats, dogs, frogs, birds, fish, jellyfish …and many more!
The real thing: A common meteorological phenomenon in many countries.
The Scientific explanation : Extremely strong winds (or its aquatic equivalent –waterspouts) which travel over rivers, seas and oceans sometimes pick these animals up, carry them for up to several miles and then deposit them elsewhere –thus causing a ‘shower of animals' .
The trivia: In 1968, shoppers at Ramsgate, Kent witnessed a shower of coins that lasted 15 minutes! In 1982, several children in England claimed that coins had fallen from the sky!
In 1957, thousands of 1,000-franc notes rained on the French people!
The magic: The Sun has disappeared!
The real thing: A natural phenomenon called a solar eclipse.
The Scientific explanation : A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, and in doing so, it totally or partly hides the Sun from the Earth's view. The sky then darkens.
