35 Mysterious Natural Phenomena That Baffle Even Scientists
Join us on an intriguing journey into the world of nature's enigmas. In this video, we explore mysterious natural phenomena that continue to elude scientific explanation. Get ready to be mystified by the unexplainable! Don't forget to subscribe for more mind-bending mysteries of our world.
0:00 - Flowering Dessert
12:34 - Blood Rain
26:37 - The Crooked Forest
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For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
0:00 - Flowering Dessert
12:34 - Blood Rain
26:37 - The Crooked Forest
#brightside
Animation is created by Bright Side.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Listen to Bright Side on:
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD...
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id...
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Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside....
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Stock materials (photos, footages and other):
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https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 You're in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the driest places on Earth.
00:06 But this desert has a beautiful secret.
00:08 Every 3 to 5 years, flowers pop up out of nowhere.
00:12 It's so famous, it's also called the flowering desert.
00:16 Seeds lie around in the ground just waiting for some rain.
00:20 When the desert gets enough water, about 200 types of flowers sprout up.
00:25 The yellow sands of the Atacama turn purple, white, green, and even pink.
00:30 Another mystical phenomenon that can be seen in the desert is called a sand waterfall.
00:36 When the wind brings a lot of sand to the edge of the canyon, it begins to fall down.
00:41 Now amplify this effect 100 times, and you get a sand waterfall in Saudi Arabia.
00:47 It really is like Niagara Falls, only there's not a drop of water.
00:51 The locals say this phenomenon warns of an impending sandstorm.
00:56 Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious circles of mushrooms
01:02 that appear in grasslands and forested areas.
01:05 There's a lot of debate about why these fairy rings form a nearly perfect circle.
01:10 Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground, causing mushrooms to
01:15 rapidly grow.
01:17 In southern India, between July and September 2001, people witnessed one of the strangest
01:22 weather phenomena in recorded history.
01:25 The rain was red.
01:28 What many would've thought to be a typical rainstorm left them shocked.
01:32 The color was bright enough to stain clothes.
01:35 There were other colors too, such as green, yellow, brown, and even black.
01:40 In the middle of a monsoon, red rain started to fall, and so did periodically for several
01:45 weeks.
01:46 Many researchers have found this unusual rain is stained either by dust or algae, so don't
01:52 try to catch any on your tongue.
01:54 Scientists aren't entirely sure how the algae got all the way up there.
01:58 This does make events like this a little unsettling.
02:03 People who live in rural central Norway, over the Hestalen Valley, can often witness floating
02:08 lights of white, yellow, and red cross the sky.
02:12 The lights appear both at day and night, and once back in the 80s, they were spotted 15-20
02:20 times in a single week.
02:21 The Hestalen lights can last just a few seconds, but sometimes they can last more than an hour.
02:27 The lights move, seeming to float or even sway around.
02:31 Some scientists believe that the reason for these lights is due to ionized iron dust.
02:37 Others say it's a combination that includes sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen.
02:41 Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts.
02:45 Norway!
02:47 Snow doughnuts are one of the rarest meteorological sights to see, with perfect weather conditions
02:52 needed just to create them.
02:54 Found in any snow-covered mountain area, like the Rocky Mountains, the wind, temperature,
02:59 snow, ice, and moisture all have to work together for us to see these phenomenal rings.
03:05 A thin layer of wet snow on the ground.
03:08 Under that layer, ice or powdered snow.
03:11 And a strong enough breeze to roll the doughnut down a hill, just like a snowball.
03:17 Once it stops rolling, it can be the size of a baseball or as large as a car tire.
03:22 It all depends on how strong the wind is.
03:24 A newly formed snow doughnut won't stay around for very long, so hurry up with that
03:28 camera and watch your head!
03:32 Can you believe there's another place on Earth with its own ecosystem and atmosphere,
03:36 similar to another planet?
03:38 Well, start believing!
03:40 Smovul Cave, located in southeastern Romania, remained closed in complete darkness for a
03:45 whopping 5.5 million years.
03:48 It wasn't until workers discovered the cave, when they were looking for a place to build,
03:53 that anyone learned about it.
03:55 Scientists carved out an opening to the cave and found that a completely sustained ecosystem
04:00 was thriving inside.
04:02 As a pathway was carved through the rock past numerous tunnels, scientists found a lake
04:07 of sulfuric water that stank like rotten eggs.
04:11 The air was filled with hydrogen sulfide and had 100 times more carbon dioxide than Earth's
04:16 atmosphere contains.
04:18 Needless to say, this air is completely toxic.
04:21 What's even crazier is that a whole ecosystem has been existing in this cave, with 33 species
04:27 that can't be found anywhere else on Earth.
04:30 This cave gives us a glimpse of what could possibly exist on other planets with completely
04:35 different atmospheres.
04:37 How it managed to exist on Earth all this time without anyone knowing is rather unbelievable,
04:43 isn't it?
04:44 Now, check these trees out.
04:46 They're called Indian rubber trees.
04:48 Their strong roots grow not underground, but on the surface.
04:52 With the help of special frames and fasteners, people have learned to control how these roots
04:57 grow.
04:58 Let's say a tree is next to a small pit.
05:00 You need to make a bridge from one end of this pit to the other.
05:04 You direct the growing tree roots in the needed direction.
05:08 Over time, the roots penetrate the ground and strengthen under endless downpours.
05:13 It takes about 15 years to create one bridge.
05:17 Here's another amazing tree called the tree of light.
05:20 It grows in Bahrain's desert.
05:22 The tree has been standing on top of this sandy hill for more than 400 years, surrounded
05:26 by miles of sand.
05:28 It's extremely hot here, and there's no moisture.
05:31 Despite this, the tree has green leaves, and it continues to grow.
05:36 So far, scientists haven't figured out yet how the tree gets moisture and nutrients.
05:41 There are only places with oil deposits around.
05:44 Locals think the tree is sacred.
05:46 After all, it demonstrates the magic of life and the power of nature.
05:51 Some experts are sure it's all about the roots.
05:54 They go so deep that they can reach underground sources of water.
05:59 So there you are.
06:00 You've been driving for hours through the night.
06:03 You didn't have any chance to sleep, so your mind is hanging by a thread.
06:07 You stop the car and go out to stretch your limbs.
06:11 And then you look up into the sky and see a beautiful sunrise.
06:15 Whoa, wait, there are three suns in the sky!
06:18 You rub your eyes, but nope, there are still three bright stars in the sky.
06:24 No, our home star hasn't been torn into three pieces, nor has it been visited by two
06:29 other stars.
06:30 This is called a sun-dawn.
06:33 It occurs mostly during severe frosts.
06:35 Small ice crystals in the sky bend the light.
06:38 As a result, you may see three bright spots in the sky instead of just one.
06:43 This phenomenon is officially called a halo.
06:46 Usually it's just a circle around the sun.
06:49 You can even see a halo at night, too.
06:51 Just look at a street lamp, and you'll see a bright circle around it.
06:55 Sometimes, a halo can take on a fancier shape.
06:58 If there's a lot of ice in the air, the light is warped even more.
07:02 Just like in a room with a dozen mirrors.
07:05 Then the halo can take on the shape of a human eye.
07:09 Because of this phenomenon, a false dawn can also occur.
07:13 While you're looking at the horizon, the dawn begins, and the edge of the sun appears.
07:18 A little bit more, and wait, the sun starts to just dissolve in the sky.
07:24 After a few moments, it's dark again.
07:27 And only a minute later, the real sun shows its face.
07:30 It was the same light curvature effect you saw before with the three suns.
07:35 Only now, the light is curved vertically, not horizontally.
07:39 And instead of the real sun, its reflection in ice crystals in the sky appeared.
07:44 But the sunrise with three stars on the horizon is actually real.
07:48 Not on Earth, though, but 340 light-years away.
07:52 There's a star system at the center of which lurks a star almost twice the size of the
07:58 sun.
07:59 And there are two smaller stars orbiting around this giant.
08:02 The strange world has a planet too.
08:05 Sunsets and dawns there really happen with three stars.
08:09 If you brought your significant other to a park bench to watch a sunset here, your date
08:14 would go just fine.
08:16 Whatever that means.
08:18 But since we're talking about the most baffling natural phenomena, it would be a
08:22 crime not to mention snow in a desert.
08:25 Yep, in the winter of 2018, the inhabitants of the Sahara Desert, one of the driest and
08:30 hottest places on this planet, woke up to discover a thick blanket of snow covering
08:36 the sand.
08:37 In some places, the layer of snow enveloping the dunes reached a staggering 15 inches.
08:43 Meteorologists, however, had an explanation for this exciting phenomenon.
08:48 They stated that cold pools of air, combined with the precipitation from the most recent
08:53 storm, resulted in a snowfall instead of rain.
08:56 So what do you do in that case?
08:58 Build snow camels?
09:00 One hump or two?
09:03 This happened in June 2009.
09:06 People in certain areas in Japan left their homes after a heavy downpour, only to find
09:12 fish, frogs, and tadpoles everywhere.
09:15 Fields, roads, lawns, rooftops were littered with these aquatic creatures.
09:21 One man was shocked to see 13 carp on and around his truck.
09:25 Apparently, he stopped to count them.
09:28 No one knows for sure where the bizarre rain came from, but the most popular theory claims
09:33 that a powerful water spout picked up all these creatures, then it carried them through
09:37 the upper atmosphere and dropped the animals on the unsuspecting people below.
09:44 Puff clouds look like something from a sci-fi movie.
09:47 They form when warm and moist air gets caught in a thunderstorm updraft.
09:52 These ominous clouds most often mean a storm is coming.
09:56 Breathtaking rainbow clouds appear on top of cotton-like puffy clouds after thunderstorms.
10:03 The puffy clouds are low-altitude ones.
10:05 They usually hover at a height of around 6,000 ft.
10:09 When the water vapor they contain condenses, the resulting droplets act like prisms.
10:15 This forms multicolored caps over the clouds.
10:19 Morning glory clouds are extremely rare.
10:22 They look like massive tubes stretching across the sky.
10:25 They can snake for more than 600 miles, sitting relatively low.
10:30 Most researchers agree that these clouds appear when an updraft squeezes through the cloud.
10:36 This creates the signature rolling appearance.
10:39 The cool air at the back of the cloud makes it sink downward.
10:43 The best, but not the only place to see morning glory is Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria.
10:49 If you decide to travel there to see these clouds, choose a period from late September
10:54 to early November.
10:57 It was 2012 when the sky turned first ominous dark, then yellow.
11:03 After that, blue gelatinous balls started to fall to the ground.
11:08 A man from the UK found these balls outside during a hailstorm.
11:12 He was walking to his garage when he spotted something unusually bright among the whitish
11:16 hailstones.
11:18 When researchers examined this "jelly rain," they found out the balls were made from the
11:22 substance used in diapers or potting soil.
11:26 It's used to absorb liquid.
11:28 It's still unclear whether the balls fell from the sky, or maybe the melting ice made
11:33 a few already existing crystals expand in the blink of an eye.
11:39 Huge white lumps over your head are called mammatus clouds.
11:43 They can make you believe the sky is falling.
11:46 Most clouds form when the air rises into the atmosphere, but not mammatus ones.
11:52 They appear when moist and cool air goes down and mixes with dry air.
11:56 The result?
11:57 Unique puffed rice clouds.
12:00 By the way, if you spot this phenomenon, bad weather is just around the corner.
12:05 Whoa, mama!
12:07 Colorful nacreous clouds occur extremely high in the atmosphere.
12:11 I mean, twice as high as a commercial airplane's cruising altitude.
12:16 The air at such heights is extremely dry and cold.
12:20 Ice crystals in nacreous clouds are much smaller than those that form more common clouds.
12:25 They scatter light in a different way.
12:28 And this gives the clouds their Mother of Pearl appearance.
12:32 Blood rain looks more terrifying than any horror movie.
12:36 But in reality, there's nothing strange or unnatural about this weather phenomenon.
12:41 People have known about such scarlet-tinted rains since the time of ancient Rome.
12:47 Sometimes powerful winds lift red dust into the atmosphere and carry it far, far away
12:52 to another galaxy.
12:55 In the end, this dust gets mixed with clouds, which colors the rain.
13:00 By the way, dust from coal mines can make the rain black.
13:04 Pollen is responsible for yellow rains.
13:07 And some other kinds of dust can turn the rainwater white.
13:12 In Australia, it sometimes rains spiders.
13:15 That's because these creatures can balloon.
13:18 That's a highly unusual way of traveling.
13:21 A spider climbs to the very top of a tall tree or shrub.
13:25 And then it spins several strands of silk.
13:28 These strands help the spider to be carried away by the wind.
13:32 It's not easy to spot ballooning.
13:34 But sometimes, if the weather is especially damp and unpleasant, mass ballooning happens.
13:40 And then you can't help but pay attention.
13:44 Millions of spiders set off on a journey to find another place with better conditions.
13:48 It may seem like it's snowing outside.
13:51 But no, those are spiders drifting down to the ground.
13:56 Ever see huge round disks in the sky?
13:59 Most likely, those were lenticular clouds.
14:02 They usually form over large and high places, like mountains or hills.
14:06 When strong winds bump into some barrier, this creates an air wave.
14:11 The air kind of wraps around the obstacle.
14:14 And the higher the barrier is, the colder the air that's rising over it becomes.
14:18 At some point, the moisture it contains turns into water droplets.
14:22 And they form the unusual clouds.
14:25 Lenticular clouds can look like waves, a pizza, or even a stack of pancakes.
14:30 How yummy!
14:32 Volcanic tornadoes are possibly one of the most terrifying natural phenomena.
14:37 When a volcano erupts, it spews red-hot rock and ash high into the air.
14:42 As for solid lava pieces and hot gases, they travel down the volcano's slope.
14:48 When this flow moves down, some of the trapped gases begin to rise and spin at the same time.
14:54 They get squeezed by the surrounding air, which makes them spin faster and faster.
14:59 That's how a volcanic tornado gets born.
15:02 Luckily, this phenomenon has a very short lifespan.
15:06 On March 19, 2018, the inhabitants of Alabama had to run for their lives.
15:12 Otherwise, they would've been hit by huge chunks of ice falling from the sky.
15:17 It was the infamous hailstorm that caused millions of dollars worth of damage.
15:22 After the hailstorm, the area looked gloomy.
15:25 Broken shop windows, smashed car windshields, busted billboards, holes in the roofs.
15:31 At least, researchers got excited when they found a hailstone near the town of Cullman.
15:36 This softball-sized monster was more than 5 inches across.
15:40 No wonder it set a new state record.
15:43 Cylindrical snow donuts occur when a wind gust decides to make a snowball.
15:49 It starts to roll some snow across a snowy area.
15:52 If it were a real snowball, it would eventually become too heavy for the wind to move.
15:57 But the snow donut's center is hollowed out.
16:00 This happens because its inner layer is too thin and is blown away when the donut is formed.
16:06 This makes it lighter than a snowball, and that's why it also rolls farther.
16:10 Unfortunately, you just can't go and find snow donuts.
16:14 They're rare because they need very precise conditions to appear.
16:19 Moonbows are a much rarer phenomenon than rainbows.
16:23 They're caused by moonlight rather than direct sunlight and occur only when the moon is near
16:28 full.
16:29 Moonbows are dim and often seem to be white.
16:32 But it's just an illusion.
16:34 The human eye is just not sensitive enough to catch all the colors.
16:38 Lightning balls are small floating spheres of light.
16:42 They can be orange, yellow, or even red.
16:45 Sometimes lightning balls descend from the sky.
16:47 In other cases, they appear out of nowhere, hovering several feet above the ground.
16:53 They don't emit any heat or produce very little sound.
16:56 Lightning balls can bounce off objects.
16:58 If they come across something electrical, like a TV, they usually disappear with a quiet
17:03 pop, leaving behind the smell of sulfur.
17:07 And lightning balls can also start fires or explode.
17:11 Scientists believe lightning balls might be connected with thunderstorms, but there's
17:15 no solid proof yet.
17:18 Fogbows are almost white, pale blue on the inside, and faint red on the outside.
17:24 You have higher chances of seeing a fogbow over the cold sea or ocean when warm air comes
17:30 into contact with much colder air.
17:33 This phenomenon also occurs when the sun is bright, and the fog is thin enough for the
17:37 light to get through.
17:39 Pele's hair is thin lava threads.
17:42 They look golden and pretty, but don't even think about picking them up.
17:46 Yeah, they can harm you.
17:48 The wind sometimes catches small droplets of lava coming from active volcanoes.
17:53 These droplets get carried miles away from the vent.
17:57 They get stretched into super-thin glass wires, also called hair lava.
18:02 Some strands can be as long as 6 feet!
18:06 In March 2018, those who looked up in the sky in northern Nevada saw one of the rarest
18:11 and most bizarre clouds ever.
18:14 It was a horseshoe cloud.
18:16 Such a vortex happens when a flat cloud travels over a column of warm, rising air.
18:22 This air not only gives the cloud its impressive shape, but also adds some spin to its movement.
18:28 But you've gotta be quick – horseshoe clouds are very fleeting and usually last
18:33 for only several minutes.
18:35 Frost flowers bloom on young sea ice in the Arctic Ocean or on thin lake ice.
18:40 They're fragile and delicate ice crystals.
18:44 These structures grow during temperature changes.
18:46 They draw moisture from the ice surface and rise, capturing bacteria and salt.
18:52 You can find frost flowers in Antarctica too.
18:55 But wherever these crystals grow, people know, disappointingly, very little about them.
19:01 Still, they're awfully pretty!
19:03 50 ships and 20 airplanes have gone missing.
19:07 Many people have disappeared and mysterious forces might have…
19:11 Oh wait, the wrong script.
19:13 This Bermuda Triangle is located in Transylvania.
19:16 My bad.
19:17 So, once upon a time in the heart of Transylvania, there was a mysterious place that people named
19:22 the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania.
19:26 Look at these twisted trees and their tangled undergrowth.
19:29 It seems like some evil creature may appear from behind a tree at any moment.
19:34 There might even be ghosts and mysterious creatures that came from space, as stories
19:38 said.
19:39 The forest became so popular in the 1960s when a man was chilling there on a warm August
19:44 afternoon with his girlfriend and a couple of friends.
19:47 Suddenly, his girlfriend pointed at something unusual in the sky.
19:51 A man came closer to the spot where she was standing and, to his surprise, saw it too!
19:58 It was a weird silver disc, shining in the sky.
20:01 He quickly pulled out his camera and took four photos before the creepy object bolted
20:06 away.
20:07 The object was there for a mere two minutes, but the man developed his film and the picture
20:11 ended up being published in local papers.
20:14 Many people were skeptical about this.
20:17 They claimed that those were most likely some weather balloons that looked like a spaceship
20:21 because they were photographed in odd lighting.
20:24 But no weather balloons, blimps, or any other objects were in the sky above the forest on
20:29 that day.
20:30 Spooky, huh?
20:31 That's not the only campfire legend from that area.
20:35 Stories say that those who ventured too deep into the murky depths of this creepy place
20:40 often did not return, which is how it got its nickname in the first place.
20:45 There was a shepherd who entered the forest together with his 200 sheep.
20:49 They were never found again.
20:51 People have also been whispering stories about a 5-year-old girl who disappeared one day.
20:56 She re-emerged one day, five years later, wearing the same clothes as the day she went
21:02 missing.
21:03 Plus, she hadn't aged a day.
21:05 There are people who entered the forest and did manage to return, but with severe burns,
21:10 high fever, and some other health issues they didn't have before.
21:14 Some were sure that happened because the subsoil had lots of natural uranium with a high level
21:20 of radioactivity.
21:22 And according to others, it's not unusual that you come to this forest and feel like
21:26 someone's watching you or your electronic devices just switch off.
21:31 And now, here's something that's not a legend.
21:34 The forest has a rich history.
21:37 Some sources say it was home to the oldest settlement in Romania, dating all the way
21:42 back to 6,500 BCE.
21:46 Trees themselves are pretty mysterious.
21:48 They grow in creepy spirals or have some unexpected zigzag patterns.
21:53 Even though some scientists have come there to explore this phenomenon, they couldn't
21:57 find the answer to why they're like this.
21:59 It seems as if trees are twisting their limbs so they can reach out and grab you when you're
22:04 not looking.
22:05 And that's what's interesting.
22:07 Each of these twisted trees spirals in a clockwise direction.
22:11 But legends say lots of inexplicable things have happened in a specific part of the forest
22:16 where you can't find trees or any other types of vegetation.
22:21 It's a perfect circle called the clearing.
22:24 The perfect name for a horror movie inspired by all these stories.
22:28 The soil in this area with no vegetation has been tested and no one has found any weird
22:34 stuff or anomalies that could potentially stop plants from growing there.
22:38 Some locals believe the forest has positive energy, which is why it's good to make a
22:42 wish there.
22:44 But many more people let their imagination run wild, telling stories about paranormal
22:48 activities happening there, like mysterious spheres popping out in the middle of the forest
22:53 or extraterrestrial lights.
22:56 Either way, you and your castle can step aside Dracula, cause you're not the only scary story
23:01 from Transylvania.
23:03 Here's another reason you won't be able to sleep well tonight.
23:07 The Isla de la Munecas, or the Island of the Dolls.
23:11 In the middle of the eerie and murky waters of canals near Mexico City, there's a small
23:16 island.
23:17 It may look charming at first, until you realize it's home to hundreds of dolls hanging from
23:22 the trees and scattered throughout the overgrown vegetation.
23:27 These dolls are old and decaying, they've lost their color over time, and their once
23:31 cheerful faces are now twisted into expressions of despair and horror.
23:37 There is a sad story behind this disturbing place.
23:41 It says the island used to be home to a reclusive man, who left his family more than 50 years
23:46 ago to live alone on the island.
23:49 He started obsessively collecting dolls that were lost in the canal.
23:54 The story says he even traded products he grew to locals to get more dolls.
23:59 The man didn't clean these dolls nor show any interest in fixing them, he would just
24:04 decorate his island with them regardless of the state in which he found them.
24:09 Even those that looked good ended up ruined due to winds and rain.
24:13 They weren't just outside, his cabin was full of these scary dolls too.
24:18 Many people were terrified of this place, claiming it was cursed, but others believed
24:23 the dolls safeguarded the island.
24:26 Moving to the suburbs of North London, where you can find the mysterious Highgate Cemetery.
24:32 It's definitely not a typical resting place for the dearly departed.
24:36 This cemetery has so many peculiar graves, including those of Karl Marx and Douglas Adams.
24:42 But that's not what draws visitors to its gates.
24:45 People come there because of the legends claiming that this place is haunted by all sorts of
24:50 spooky creatures, including vampires.
24:53 Yup, stories about shadowy figures hovering over graves with glowing red eyes and sharp
24:58 fangs never get boring.
25:01 But this place wasn't always this creepy.
25:03 It was established in the middle of the 19th century, once neglected and overgrown with
25:08 crumbling monuments and vegetation that seemed to swallow up graves.
25:13 But these legends became popular along with the place itself in the 1970s, after the cemetery
25:18 had appeared in several horror movies.
25:21 Some visitors there are even self-proclaimed vampire hunters.
25:26 There is this peaceful and charming village called Pluckley just a short drive away from
25:30 London.
25:31 At least that's what it seems at first sight.
25:34 People whisper Pluckley could be the most haunted village in England.
25:38 As you go through its winding streets, you'll come across many spots legends say are haunted.
25:44 Many of them are connected to the Daring family, which held the title of Lords of the Manor
25:49 for over four centuries.
25:52 What gives the sense of old times is the round-topped windows on many buildings.
25:57 Legend has it, hundreds of years ago, Lord Daring escaped when his enemies captured him.
26:02 He jumped through one of these windows head first.
26:05 In commemoration of this pretty daring act, every window in the manor house and the village
26:10 was made in the same style.
26:13 Even though the manor house burned down in 1951, the legacy of Lord Daring's escape
26:18 lives on in the charming village of Pluckley.
26:21 Some say Pluckley is surrounded by the so-called Screaming Wood.
26:25 There are many legends about paranormal events that have occurred there.
26:30 There are nice walking trails in this wood, but to be honest, I'd only be brave enough
26:34 to hit them during the day.
26:36 And how about the Crooked Forest?
26:38 It's in Poland, and it consists of 400 pine trees whose trunks take a sharp 90-degree
26:44 turn and then become weirdly curved, like the letter J.
26:49 Someone planted them in the early 1930s, but it's still not completely clear how all
26:53 these trees got the same curve.
26:56 One scientist said this looked like a typical response to gravity.
27:00 Plants have a special mechanism that allows them to reorient themselves when the stem
27:04 is horizontal to gravity.
27:06 So these trees may have been grown this way for making boats or furniture.
27:11 Of course, human imagination goes way beyond science, so many tried to explain the existence
27:17 of these trees with stories of spirits that possessed these trees or mysterious creatures
27:22 from space that made them this way.
27:24 Ok, I'm on, let me just grab my popcorn!
27:27 The Moon, our little companion, our only friend in the big dark cold space.
27:33 It's not surprising that any events related to it, like solar or lunar eclipses, excites
27:39 us.
27:40 But how about the Black Moon, the Blue Moon, a Super Moon?
27:45 Have you ever heard of them?
27:46 Well, let me tell you about it and how you can observe them.
27:50 Let's get your calendars ready.
27:52 The distance between the Earth and the Moon is 238,900 miles, I've measured.
27:58 Feels not so far, doesn't it?
27:59 But trust me, most people greatly underestimate this difference.
28:03 Did you know that every planet in the Solar System, including Jupiter and Saturn, would
28:08 fit between the Moon and us?
28:10 I couldn't believe it myself.
28:12 The Moon is tidally locked to the Earth.
28:14 That's why it's always turned to us with only one side.
28:18 There are a few phases in a lunar cycle.
28:21 The New Moon is the first phase.
28:23 The Sun illuminates the unseen side of our satellite, so we can't see the Moon.
28:27 It's almost invisible in the sky.
28:30 The Rising Moon is the gradual growth of the light part.
28:33 The Full Moon is the phase during which the Sun completely illuminates the visible side.
28:38 The Descending Moon is a gradual waning of the light part.
28:42 And finally, another New Moon.
28:44 And the whole cycle starts again.
28:47 There are 29 and a half days in a lunar cycle, so it takes around a month if we're not
28:51 talking about February.
28:53 But why am I telling you all this?
28:55 So you can better understand Black Moon, a rare astronomical event that happens once
29:01 every 29 months or 2 and a half years.
29:04 This term doesn't exist in astronomy, as it was made up by astrologers.
29:09 It's unofficial and has several meanings.
29:11 Black Moon may mean the second New Moon in a month.
29:15 Usually, there's only one New Moon per month, so having two is a rare phenomenon.
29:19 It's caused by a slight discrepancy between the lunar cycle and the Earth's annual one
29:24 – something like leap years.
29:26 Black Moon can also mean something else.
29:29 For example, usually, there are only three New Moons per one season.
29:33 Basically, one New Moon every 30 days.
29:36 However, if there are four, the Black Moon means the third one.
29:41 There are also some less popular meanings.
29:43 For example, that's what people call February without a new or full moon.
29:48 This happens about once every 19 years.
29:51 But what's so special about it?
29:53 The satellite is wholly hidden in the sky during a regular New Moon.
29:57 But during a Black Moon, you'll be able to see its dark silhouette.
30:01 You'll have to choose a good place without city lights.
30:04 If you live in a big city, you'll hardly be able to see it without a telescope.
30:09 So since the sky turns black during this phenomenon, you'll be able to see different constellations
30:15 that were hidden before, as well as Jupiter and Venus.
30:18 The last time this happened was on April 30, 2022.
30:22 You could observe it in most parts of the United States, except for areas in the Pacific,
30:27 Alaska, or Hawaiian time.
30:29 Aloha!
30:30 Unfortunately, if this is the first time you hear about the Black Moon, you've already
30:35 missed it.
30:36 Now, you'll have to wait another 2 and a half years.
30:39 The next Black Moon will happen in September 2024 by standard definition, and May 19, 2023
30:46 by seasonal definition.
30:48 But hey, don't worry!
30:50 You can always see another astronomical event once upon a Blue Moon.
30:54 Now, I'm not mocking you, I'm being serious.
30:57 You can still see the Blue Moon.
30:59 Well, not literally, of course.
31:01 The Moon won't turn blue.
31:02 That's just what astrologers call the second full moon in a month.
31:06 The Black and Blue Moons are similar by definition, but they're actually the opposites.
31:11 If the Black Moon is a rare second new moon in a month, the Blue Moon is a rare second
31:16 full moon.
31:17 They also both happen every 29 months.
31:21 Not so rare, right?
31:22 Kind of ironic that this event was called the Blue Moon.
31:25 Folklorist Philip Hitchcock assumed that the calendrical meaning of the term "Blue Moon"
31:31 was first invented by the Maine Farmer's Almanac in 1937.
31:34 Now, another interesting astronomical event is called the Supermoon.
31:39 Stock up on telescopes and look for some hills, because you'll see an exceptionally bright
31:44 and large moon like the one we only see in movies.
31:48 What exactly does a supermoon mean?
31:50 You see, the Moon doesn't revolve around the Earth in a circular orbit.
31:54 Its orbit is elliptical, and the place where it's closest to the Earth is called perigee.
32:00 A supermoon is a phenomenon that occurs when the full moon coincides with the perigee.
32:06 Because of this, it seems to us especially large and bright.
32:10 It looks 14% larger in diameter and 30% brighter than usual.
32:15 By the way, this phenomenon is often confused with the so-called "moon illusion."
32:20 During the moon illusion, the moon is low above the horizon and visually appears larger
32:25 in size.
32:26 Of the 12 or 13 full moons in a year, 3 or 4 are supermoons.
32:31 But most of them are not very significant.
32:33 You probably won't see a difference at all.
32:36 The most interesting ones are the rare large supermoons.
32:39 During them, the moon actually becomes big.
32:42 The last major supermoon occurred in 2016.
32:45 Unfortunately, large-scale supermoons are rare and occur about once every 18 years.
32:52 The next one will happen only in 2034, but we can observe smaller supermoons quite often.
32:58 In 2022, they'll take place on June 14 and July 16.
33:03 There is also an opposite phenomenon called the micromoon.
33:07 You've probably already guessed what that means.
33:10 It happens when the full moon is at its farthest point from the Earth.
33:13 This point is called apogee.
33:16 The next micromoon in 2022 will take place on June 29.
33:20 In 2023, we'll be able to observe it on January 7, February 5, and August 16.
33:27 Of course, you don't have to follow each of these events.
33:30 Most people are more interested in lunar and solar eclipses.
33:33 By the way, are you one of the people who confuses these two events with each other?
33:38 Test yourself.
33:39 Pause this video, describe what these two eclipses mean, let's compare your answer
33:44 with the correct definition.
33:46 Are you back?
33:47 Ok.
33:48 A solar eclipse is a phenomenon where the moon entirely or partially covers the Sun.
33:54 A solar eclipse is possible only during the new moon when the moon itself is not visible.
33:59 Many people believe that this event is incredibly rare, but this is not quite true.
34:04 A lunar eclipse is a phenomenon in which the moon is entirely or partially in the shadow
34:09 cast by the Earth.
34:11 The lunar eclipse can only happen during the full moon when the proximity of the moon is
34:15 on the node of its orbit.
34:17 If you guessed right, well done!
34:19 If not, don't worry, many people confuse them.
34:22 In 2022, a partial solar eclipse will occur on October 25.
34:27 It'll be visible in Europe, South and West Asia, North and East Africa, and the Atlantic.
34:33 As I mentioned, a total solar eclipse is not as rare as many people think, but the problem
34:38 is that it's not always visible from any part of the planet.
34:42 So if you want to see this event, be sure to look for their calendar and see from which
34:46 parts of the Earth you'll be able to see it.
34:48 And don't forget the special glasses!
34:51 Lunar eclipses occur much more often, though.
34:54 Partial lunar eclipses happen almost every month.
34:56 But the total lunar eclipse in 2022 will take place on the night of November 7 to 8.
35:03 You'll be able to see it in almost all parts of the world except Africa.
35:06 I hear that the zebras are not happy about this.
35:09 The moon is a genuinely fascinating satellite.
35:13 You think whatever, it's just a small rock ball.
35:16 But in reality, there are so many interesting things connected to it.
35:20 What rare lunar events have you seen or want to see in your life?
35:24 Have you observed any rare and interesting astronomical events?
35:27 Be sure to share in the comments!
35:56 It could be in the form of light balls, sheet lightning, streamers, and a steady glow in
36:01 the sky.
36:02 Soon after, a strong earthquake follows.
36:06 Scientists can't explain why those lights appear.
36:08 And they don't always do, either.
36:10 Some believe that's a reaction of underground gases released into the atmosphere.
36:15 Sure enough, an earthquake begins.
36:18 But lucky you, it's not as strong as you expected.
36:22 The ground is shaking, but you even manage to keep your balance.
36:25 It stops as abruptly as it began, and you walk home.
36:29 On the way home, you see a flash and hear a whip crack.
36:33 Lightning has struck a lone tree near where you just stood.
36:37 It's caught on fire, and there's a column of flames rising to the sky.
36:42 Still no rain, and the pillar becomes taller and taller.
36:46 Have you heard of such a thing as a fire tornado?
36:49 These phenomena occur when the wind is caught in a circle close to the ground because of
36:54 the difference in air pressure.
36:56 Such mini-tornadoes are usually easy to notice.
36:59 Small rubble, dust, sand, and leaves rise into the air and start flying in rapid circles.
37:05 But then, if there's a source of fire nearby, the funnel can catch it and blow it stronger,
37:11 like bellows.
37:12 The flames go round and round, reaching ever higher and eventually creating a swirling,
37:18 blazing tower.
37:19 Luckily, fire tornadoes are short-lived and don't normally cause much damage.
37:24 But don't try to hide from the storm under that tree.
37:27 You can find this unusual plant in Florida and in some parts of the Caribbean coast.
37:32 Externally, it doesn't look special at all.
37:35 A gray trunk, green leaves, and fruit similar to small apples.
37:39 What you must remember is never to pluck these apples and never stand next to the tree, especially
37:45 if it's raining.
37:47 This is the Manchineel tree, which is considered the most dangerous in the world.
37:52 Its trunk, bark, branches, and fruit contain poisonous juice.
37:57 One drop of this corrosive acidic liquid can harm your skin.
38:01 A lot.
38:02 The tree can secrete this juice, and if you accidentally touch it, you risk burning your
38:07 hand.
38:08 When it rains, water droplets fall on the tree and mix with the poison.
38:13 Water can also bounce off the bark and get on your skin.
38:17 That's why you shouldn't stand nearby either.
38:20 There are almost no other shrubs or mushrooms growing around.
38:23 Animals avoid these trees, and people don't chop them and don't pluck the fruit.
38:28 You can't make a bonfire from their branches.
38:31 Burning wood emits poisonous smoke that can damage your eyes.
38:35 Locals know this tree well, but tourists and travelers might accidentally get harmed.
38:40 That's why most Manchineel trees are marked with paint or have a warning sign.
38:46 In western Venezuela, locals living close to the Catatumbo River aren't afraid of lightning
38:52 because they see it almost every single night.
38:55 It starts at around 7 o'clock and doesn't stop until dawn.
38:59 The everlasting Catatumbo lightning did once stop for a few months, from January to March
39:05 2010.
39:06 It was probably due to drought, or maybe the charge ran out.
39:10 In 1991, a scientist suggested that the phenomenon happens because of cold and warm air currents
39:16 meeting in the area.
39:18 Another theory is that the lightning could be due to the presence of uranium in the bedrock.
39:24 Not all lightning happens inside clouds.
39:27 There's a rare phenomenon called a dirty thunderstorm.
39:30 The lightning happens above a volcano.
39:33 The most famous is in Japan.
39:35 It erupts almost every day and spits black clouds high into the air.
39:39 So it's super scary volcano clouds plus lightning.
39:45 Regular lightning happens during a storm when ice crystals bump into each other.
39:49 In a dirty thunderstorm, bits of volcanic ash collide, create friction, and spark up
39:54 the sky.
39:56 In the hottest and one of the driest places on Earth, Africa's Doniquil Desert, temperatures
40:02 often rise above 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
40:05 The out-of-this-world landscape has many active volcanoes and geysers that spit out toxic
40:11 gases like chlorine and sulfur.
40:13 The vibrantly green, electric blue, and yellow waters are all rain and seawater warmed up
40:19 by magma.
40:20 One wrong step here and you'd be gone for good.
40:25 This happened in June 2009.
40:27 People in certain areas in Japan left their homes after a heavy downpour, only to find
40:32 fish, frogs, and tadpoles everywhere.
40:35 Fields, roads, lawns, and rooftops were littered with these aquatic creatures.
40:41 One man was shocked to see 13 carp on and around his truck.
40:46 Apparently, he stopped to count them.
40:48 No one knows for sure where the bizarre rain came from, but the most popular theory claims
40:53 that a powerful water spout picked up all these creatures.
40:56 Then it carried them through the upper atmosphere and dropped the animals on the unsuspecting
41:01 people below.
41:03 And now, welcome to Abraham Lake in Canada.
41:06 It's completely frozen.
41:08 You step onto the transparent ice and look down at what lies beneath.
41:12 No fish, just some mysterious frozen bubbles.
41:15 They look like small clouds frozen in ice, or jellyfish who forgot to pack a winter jacket.
41:21 There are thousands of these little bubbles made up of methane.
41:25 But don't try to dig a hole in the ice to touch it.
41:28 Methane is highly flammable.
41:30 It's created by methane-producing bacteria that eats leaves, grass, insects, or any other
41:36 organic stuff that gets into the lake.
41:38 When the methane touches the frozen water, it turns into tens of thousands of frozen
41:43 little balls.
41:44 When the ice melts, they burst open and sizzle.
41:47 Similar lakes can be found near some shores of the Arctic Ocean.
41:51 There, the size of the bubbles can reach several times the size of hot air balloons.
41:56 Beautiful for sure, but not exactly safe.
42:00 The next shocking lake is in Indonesia, the island of Java.
42:04 You come to a majestic volcano, overgrown with grass and trees.
42:09 The volcano seems to be asleep, but smoke is pouring out of it.
42:14 You climb to the summit.
42:15 Exhausted, tired, sweaty, you're ready to cool off.
42:19 Nice work, you made it to the top.
42:21 You look into the mouth of the volcano.
42:24 No boiling lava, just a beautiful, bright, turquoise lake down there.
42:29 It looks like an oasis.
42:31 Perfect time for a refreshing dip.
42:33 You run down and get ready to jump in.
42:35 But that's not water, that's acid!
42:38 Sulfurous gases get into the lake from under the volcano.
42:42 The lake itself is full of metals.
42:44 When the gases touch them, they form that beautiful turquoise water.
42:48 I mean, acid.
42:50 Better head back to the nearest village, rest, and come back at night when it's cooler.
42:54 In the dark, the lake seems to glow.
42:57 Right above it, you see light-filled, exploding little clouds.
43:01 The sulfurous gases rise out of the lake, combine with the air, and flash bright blue.
43:07 Still, don't get too close.
43:10 The sea turns sinister red, and no living being can survive in it.
43:15 Must be some dark magic.
43:17 In fact, it's tiny algae that spread uncontrollably, giving the water this specific tint called
43:23 the red tide.
43:24 They have toxins that destroy sea mammals, birds, and turtles, as well as creatures that
43:29 feed on them.
43:31 For humans, contact with it ends in breathing problems or seafood poisoning.
43:37 Sometimes even huge ships sink in the open seas for no visible reason.
43:42 That reason is often the pockets of bubbles that underwater volcanoes produce even while
43:46 they're sleeping.
43:48 Those productive magma factories are hidden under 8,500 feet of water.
43:52 When they wake up, they act just like land volcanoes, and they can cause destructive
43:57 tsunamis.
43:59 This tree looks like a bottle.
44:01 No wonder it's called the bottle tree.
44:03 It grows in Namibia and attracts many tourists.
44:07 But don't get too close to the tree because it's one of the most dangerous on Earth.
44:12 Milky juice flows inside the trunk.
44:14 It's highly toxic to the human body.
44:17 On the bright side, though, the trees have beautiful pink-white leaves with a red core.
44:22 There's a tree growing in Western Australia that was once used as a prison.
44:26 A cell for criminals existed inside the Boab Prison Tree for a long time.
44:32 People were usually kept there temporarily just for one night.
44:35 After that, they were taken to their final destination.
44:38 The "prison" was built more than 1,500 years ago and has been perfectly preserved
44:43 to this day.
44:45 Tourists visiting this place can sneak a peek inside.