Posted on 08/25/2011 9:09:17 AM PDT by bigheadfred
There was a small storm moving across the way this morning. With the sun just coming up it was producing a rainbow effect in the storm.
So I got my little Kodak camera out and started filming, hoping to catch some of the lightning, too.
When I was looking at it frame by frame to see how well one of the lightning strikes showed up, I was surprised with this 3 frame sequence.
This bolt of lightning seemed to generate itself in my backyard. The storm was a couple of miles away.
Thought it was interesting.
Thought I would share.
I think you are looking at two events. The one in your yard looks like leader stroke that never “connected” to the main charge. The more distant one behind the tree did connect.
Every lightning strike starts with a leader stroke. They have a distinct sound.
Looks like you almost witnessed a strike in your yard!
It’s an artefact from the light reflecting off the digital sensor, off the back of the lens then back to the sensor. The artefact matches the bottom of the “true” lightening bolt image. This happens on very bright scenes.
And I thought that might be it. But I don't know.
It looks like the one in your yard is actually a digital relic in your camera from the main strike as they have the same shape. I assume the main strike behind the tree was the main strike and the first picture in the sequence. I know how it could happen on a film camera but not sure how that would happen on a digital camera unless it was an imprint from the lightening flash temporarily on the lens.
you nailed it. cut and overlay the bottom of both and they are the same exact shape.
He was getting close to a ZOT! with some of his posts last night! LOL
Seriously Fred, you're very lucky! Good thing you weren't standing out near the fence!
Thanks. And it must be an artifact. I can see now how it matches the bottom of the main bolt. But it is the first frame.
Special photography can capture this. An item that is unable to properly discharge a build up of electricity creates this streamer as the potential is attracted to the opposite charge in a storm. When they make contact...Whoopeeee! Lightning.
This is why my radio antennae are well grounded. They rapidly discharge any potential to ground. Never been hit even once...for which my expensive comms equipment is very grateful.
Last night? Last night was pretty tame. Unless you mean the excitement trying to trank Laz. Or get Dubya back on their chain.
My friend, you caught one of the most interesting phenomena of lightning. We all see lightning coming from the sky to the ground, yet lightning as best as I can describe needs a path and the pathway always starts from the ground.
So my friend you are a very lucky man or woman because that one did not complete and it was in your front yard. This is not uncommon, for pathways not the complete. If it had completed I would not want to be standing anywhere too close to it.
Great pictures, and very rare camera picked of a pathway not completing, you are indeed fortunate. I’m sure there’s descriptions of the event that you caught, but it’s the best a layperson like myself can do. Absolutely Cool.
My friend, you caught one of the most interesting phenomena of lightning. We all see lightning coming from the sky to the ground, yet lightning as best as I can describe needs a path and the pathway always starts from the ground.
So my friend you are a very lucky man or woman because that one did not complete and it was in your front yard. This is not uncommon, for pathways not the complete. If it had completed I would not want to be standing anywhere too close to it.
Great pictures, and very rare camera picked of a pathway not completing, you are indeed fortunate. I’m sure there’s descriptions of the event that you caught, but it’s the best a layperson like myself can do. Absolutely Cool.
Lol!
Very interesting sequence; thank you for posting it. Had never heard of ground-to-cloud lightning or ground-to-ground lightning before. Found a video of ground-to-cloud lightning in slow motion at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NZ7BollRo4
Be fun to get some home video like that.
Astronomy picture of the day!
Can the leader stroke take out a lectric transformer? As my neighbors was fried and I heard the thunder and clap and saw a weird light in my office of my house 32 feet away. I thought I was dead.
“Can the leader stroke take out a lectric transformer?”
I don’t know. They are much lower energy than the real stroke.
ping to self for later.
Tempest Milky Way ( A mosaic & video with Music )
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.