But scientists still can't explain what causes it, or even exactly what it is.While some skeptics remain, there is significant observational evidence for ball lightning's existence.
"[There are] around 10,000 written accounts of observations covering many countries with similar properties recurring in many observations," said John Abrahamson, a professor of chemistry at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand."
All this points to a phenomenon which is repeatable and justifies a single label.
"Thousands of eyewitnesses have described seeing a floating, glowing ball similar to a tennis ball or even a beach ball.
The sightings generally accompany thunderstorms, but it's unclear what other similarities ball lightning might share with its conventional relative. Ball lightning floats near the ground, sometimes bounces off the ground or other objects, and does not obey the whims of wind or the laws of gravity.
An average ball lightning glows with the power of a 100-watt bulb. Some have been reported to melt through glass windows and burn through screens.
The record suggests that ball lightning is not inherently deadly, but there are reports of people being killed by contact—most notably the pioneering electricity researcher Georg Richmann, who died in 1753.
Richmann is believed to have been electrocuted by ball lightning as he conducted a lightning-rod experiment in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The phenomenon lasts only a short time, perhaps ten seconds, before either fading away or violently dissipating with a small explosion.
