Abstract
AMONGST the notes in NATURE of August 4, 1921 (vol. 107, p. 722), is a reference to the occurrence of ball lightning during a thunderstorm at St. John's Wood on June 26. The phenomenon, it is added, is of great rarity. The following therefore, apparently another instance of this phenomenon, may be worthy of record in NATURE. It was communicated at the time to the Meteorological Office in Sydney. On the evening of January 13, 1920, a very severe thunderstorm with heavy rain occurred in Sydney. About 9 P.M. I went out on to the verandah of my house at Neutral Bay, which overlooked the harbour, to watch the progress of the storm. This was soon after its beginning, and the lightning was very vivid and frequent and the rain heavy. Looking towards Mosman Bay, I saw descending, rather slowly in an oscillating way, a large ball of light, seemingly about the size of a Chinese lantern. This took about two seconds to descend and be lost to sight in the hollow towards which Mosman Bay itself lay. The light seemed to have a violet tinge. No rays emanated from it. No noise was heard.
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CLELAND, J. Ball Lightning. Nature 110, 40 (1922). https://doi.org/10.1038/110040a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/110040a0
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