10am, Monday - A LOUTH Leader story about mysterious lightning seen during February's earthquake has sparked national and international interest.
The Times newspaper quoted the story on Saturday in its Weather Eye section.
It reports how people told the Leader they saw flashes of light at the time of the earthquake at 12.56am on February 27.
There is also a mention of the sighting of ball lightning in the Westgate home of Elvira Witney.
A Dutch UFO research group is using the story in its newsletter.
Frits Westra, of the UFO Working Group Netherlands, said it would use the story alongside a piece by earthquake light expert Paul Devereux.
Mr Westra said: "Your report is a nice illustration of the phenomena investigated by Paul Devereux."
Paul Simons, writing in the Times, said one explanation for the phenomenon is that the electrical properties of rocks might change under severe stress before or during an earthquake.
He said this could generate changes in the electrical behaviour of the atmosphere, ionising the air and producing glowing lights.
Reports of earthquake light liken it to the aurora borealis or Northern Lights seen around the Arctic Circle.
So far the Leader has had four reports from people who saw flashes of light during the earthquake. Did you see anything that night?
Sightings of ball lightning are very rare and scientists are largely still baffled by it.
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Click here to read about the first group of sightings in LouthClick here to read more sightingsClick here to see the story in The TimesClick here to read Paul Devereux's article about earthquake lightningClick here to visit the UFO Working Group's websiteThe full article contains 293 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
