Yes, interesting though that phenomenon is, I’m afraid I’ve never actually seen it.
At least we know what causes it: methane, of course, though how it is ignited I’m not sure.
Ah, I see from Wikipaedia that it is phosphene and diphosphane which can spontaneously ignite and then ignite the methane.
Love the term ignis fatuus.
Not so keen on Wiki begging me for money though. I sent them £2 a couple of weeks ago on the assumption that that would suffice for a year or two!!
I agree. ‘Fatuus’ immediately brings to mind ‘fart’, but then that’s my dirty mind.
I often go to Wikipaedia if I’m not sure of something, so I suppose I should make the effort to send them a few quid.
Then there is phosphorescence, luminescence, and mirages. Naturally occurring things living and not that create or bend light.
If you saw a green light moving across the night sky, with no other point of reference, would you know whether it was a small object close to, or a large object thousands of kilometres away. Cue Jeff Wayne’s musical version of War of the Worlds.
Which would you think was the most likely; a firefly (assuming you were in a country that has them) or a Martian invader?
That would depend on what foodstuff/chemical I might have recently imbibed. Which might explain some claims of funny goings on.
