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Illustration of St. Elmo's fire on a ship at sea Electrostatic discharge flashes across the windscreen of a KC-10 cockpit.. St. Elmo's fire (also called witchfire or witch's fire) [1] is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal horn [2] in an atmospheric electric field.
Pilots evacuating in preparation for Hurricane Idalia observed bright blue light outside their aircraft, an event called St. Elmo’s fire. Here’s what causes it.
The Royal Air Force’s 99 Squadron has released a video showing the phenomenon known as St Elmo’s Fire developing at the nose of a C-17 Globemaster plane during a recent nighttime flight near ...
Though usually associated with thunderstorms, [1] the observed phenomenon is reported to last considerably longer than the split-second flash of a lightning bolt, and is a phenomenon distinct from St. Elmo's fire and will-o'-the-wisp. Some 19th-century reports [2] [3] describe balls that eventually explode and leave behind an odor of sulfur.
While the Hurricane Hunters were doing a winter storm flight across the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 15, they captured weather phenomenon St. Elmo's Fire.
The electrical discharges at the mastheads of ships were read as a sign of his protection and came to be called "Saint Elmo's Fire". [36] [37] Thus, Saint Elmo's Fire was usually good luck in traditional sailor's lore, but because it is a sign of electricity in the air and interferes with compass readings, sailors sometimes regarded it as an ...
Ball lightning is often erroneously identified as St. Elmo's Fire, whereas they are separate and distinct phenomena. [26] Although referred to as "fire", St. Elmo's Fire is, in fact, plasma, and is observed, usually during a thunderstorm, at the tops of trees, spires or other tall objects, or on the heads of animals, as a brush or star of light.
This week marks the 35th anniversary of the release of St. Elmo's Fire. For some, that milestone might rekindle thoughts of a certain formative time of their lives, and 80's nostalgia. For others ...