The ocean has a strange, deep hum that no one can hear—but it’s always there. 🌊🔊 Scientists have discovered that the Earth itself vibrates with this low-frequency sound, and they’re still trying to figure out exactly why. Some think it's caused by waves colliding or movements deep in the ocean floor, but no one knows for sure. And that’s just one of nature’s weird mysteries! Ever heard of fire rainbows, glowing tides, or skyquakes that boom out of nowhere? 🌈💥 Earth is full of rare, unexplained events that remind us just how wild and unpredictable our planet really is! Animation is created by Bright Side.
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Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Well, here you are, you're getting into your submarine, feeling a bit anxious.
00:05You're going to descend hundreds of feet underwater to explore the ocean floor.
00:10So many things can go wrong.
00:12Technical issues, insane water pressure, dangerous marine monsters, mysterious eerie sounds…
00:18Wait, what?
00:19Eerie sounds so deep underwater?
00:22Yep, a strange humming noise is coming from the ocean depths.
00:26What makes it even creepier is that it only appears during dusk and dawn.
00:31This noise might act as a dinner bell since it's likely to have a connection to massive
00:35groups of sea creatures moving up and down through the water to feed.
00:40But so far, it's just a theory.
00:44Using highly sensitive underwater microphones, researchers recorded a mysterious low-frequency
00:49hum at depths of 660 to 3300 feet.
00:54The sound wasn't very loud, just 3-6 decibels above the usual ocean background noise.
01:00For comparison, when someone is whispering in a quiet library, the sound reaches 30 decibels.
01:06The underwater noise also had a puzzling or humming quality.
01:10The weirdest thing?
01:11Despite their efforts, the researchers couldn't pinpoint a single species responsible for
01:16the sound.
01:18The noise originates in a region known as the twilight zone of the ocean.
01:23This region is dark and doesn't have many nutrients, with no sunlight for photosynthesis.
01:29Life here relies on organic debris falling from above, such as deceased organisms or
01:34waste material.
01:35At the same time, while it may sound barren, the twilight zone is far from empty.
01:40A 2015 study estimated that up to 90% of the world's fish could live in this zone, including
01:47many undiscovered species.
01:49Now, back to the mysterious noise.
01:52The researchers believe the sound may be linked to the vertical migration of small marine
01:57creatures like fish, shrimp, and squid.
02:00These animals move upward toward the surface at sunset to feed on plankton and nutrients,
02:05using darkness to avoid predators.
02:08At sunrise, they return to the depths to hide.
02:11This migration, which is one of the largest animal movements on Earth, involves billions
02:16of organisms and occurs daily.
02:20Scientists suspect that the strange hum might occur during this migration, as a way for
02:25the creatures to communicate or coordinate their movements.
02:29It might also serve as a signal to indicate when it's safe for a group to go to the
02:33surface and feed.
02:35If some animals indeed use the hum to communicate, it could help us understand deep-sea life
02:40better.
02:41The twilight zone has always been considered a quiet environment, but such a discovery
02:46hints at complex social behaviors and interactions among its inhabitants.
02:52But it's not only the ocean that produces bizarre sounds.
02:56Earth is humming non-stop too.
02:58Unfortunately, you can't hear this soundtrack.
03:01This hum isn't from earthquakes.
03:03It's produced by subtle ongoing vibrations in the planet's crust.
03:07They're too faint for us to feel and can only be detectable with special equipment.
03:13Scientists have long known about this phenomenon called free oscillation and have recorded
03:17this persistent hum.
03:20Earthquakes are the most noticeable ground movements.
03:23According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth experiences about 500,000 earthquakes every
03:29year.
03:30Of those, only 100,000 are strong enough to be felt, and around 100 cause noticeable damage.
03:37But in the quieter moments between earthquakes, the planet is still constantly vibrating with
03:42smaller, unnoticeable movements.
03:45Unlike the sudden jolts of earthquakes, this hum is steady and uniform, and it's a byproduct
03:50of micro-seismic activity.
03:53Seismometers, tools used to record ground vibrations, can detect this sound anywhere
03:58on land.
04:00For years, researchers have been debating the origins of this hum.
04:04Some thought it came from ocean waves reaching deep into the seafloor.
04:08Others believed it was caused by colliding waves on the ocean's surface.
04:13By 2015, scientists had confirmed that both factors contributed to Earth's constant
04:17vibration.
04:19And although this hum has been recorded on land, now we also have much clearer, more
04:24detailed underwater recordings.
04:27To study the hum, researchers used spherical seismometers on the seafloor in the Indian
04:32Ocean near an island east of Madagascar.
04:36Between September 2012 and November 2013, they placed 57 free-fall seismometers across
04:43a 772-square-mile area.
04:46These devices are designed to sink into the ocean floor and record even the faintest vibrations.
04:52Over the course of the 11-month study, the team filtered out noise from ocean waves and
04:57seafloor currents.
04:58They got clear, consistent signals of Earth's hum, with peaks at frequencies between 2.9
05:04and 4.5 mHz, far below the range of human hearing, which starts at 20 Hz.
05:11The discovery of Earth's hum from the ocean floor is more than just a scientific curiosity.
05:16It gives researchers a new way to study how energy moves through the planet's crust
05:21and mantle.
05:23In any case, the world around us is filled with weird sounds that sometimes remain unexplained.
05:30One of the most intriguing examples is the BLOOM, an incredibly loud underwater sound
05:35recorded in 1997 by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
05:41The sound lasted about a minute and began as a low rumble, which then increased in frequency.
05:47It was so loud that underwater microphones detected it across an astonishing 3,000 miles!
05:54Initially, some experts thought it was the call of a massive unknown sea creature.
05:59However, NOAA later determined that the source likely had been the calving of icebergs, when
06:04giant pieces of Antarctic glaciers had been breaking off and crashing into the sea.
06:10The sound, known as JULIA, a strange cooing noise, could have been produced by an iceberg
06:15scraping along the ocean floor.
06:19Another sound dubbed TRAIN, due to its resemblance to the sound of train wheels on a track, likely
06:25originated in Antarctica's Ross Sea.
06:28Then there is UPSWEEP, a recurring seasonal scratchy noise detected in the Pacific Ocean
06:34since 1991.
06:36Despite years of research, its exact cause remains unclear.
06:43The underwater world also has bizarre sounds that can be described as choirs of fish.
06:49Scientists studying marine life off the coast of Port Hedland in Western Australia discover
06:54that many fish species sing in synchronized choruses at dawn and dusk, much like birds.
07:00Over 18 months, researchers recorded tons of sounds, including foghorn-like calls from
07:06black jewelfish and rhythmic ba-ba-ba sounds from batfish.
07:11These fish songs, which often involve repetitive calls that overlap in large groups, are especially
07:16important for breeding, feeding, and territorial behavior.
07:21Further in the ocean, NOAA researchers also explored the sounds of the Challenger Deep,
07:26the deepest part of the Mariana Trench.
07:29They used a titanium-encased microphone that managed to survive the crushing pressure over
07:34a thousand times the atmospheric pressure at sea level.
07:38Over 23 days, the recorder captured loads of noises, from the haunting songs of whales
07:44to the rumble of distant earthquakes.
07:47Now we've already figured out that the ocean is filled with strange sounds, but you
07:51can also hear weird noises above ground.
07:55One of the most puzzling is the hum, a low-pitched noise reported by people in specific areas
08:01such as Taos, New Mexico, or Bristol, England.
08:04The sound is often described as a faint engine-like drone, and its source remains a mystery.
08:10Some researchers think it might be a psychological phenomenon, where people focus on subtle background
08:16sounds they might otherwise ignore.
08:18In any case, no definitive answer has been found yet.
08:23Geological formations can sing too.
08:26Utah's Rainbow Bridge, a massive 300-foot-high sandstone arch, vibrates like a guitar string
08:33when exposed to sounds, distant earthquakes, or waves near Lake Powell.
08:38Scientists have studied its frequencies to understand how such vibrations could affect
08:42the bridge's stability over time.
08:44Interestingly, visitors to the Rainbow Bridge have reported hearing faint humming sounds
08:49too.
08:51The skies also have their own eerie noises.
08:54For centuries, people in polar regions have described faint sizzling, popping, and cracking
09:00sounds, accompanying auroras.
09:02A Finnish researcher made the first known recordings of these sounds and traced their
09:06origin to electrical discharges in the lower atmosphere, about 230 feet above the ground.
09:12These charges, caused by magnetic storms fueling auroras, produce faint sounds during
09:18calm and clear nights.
09:20Other natural phenomena, such as icebergs grinding against the seafloor or volcanic
09:25activity on the ocean floor, produce groans, rumbles, and crackling sounds that scientists
09:31study to learn about glacial movements and underwater geological activity.
09:35I myself produce many unusual sounds and rumbles, but that's a subject for another video or
09:41my next annual review!
11:43If you enjoyed this video, be sure to subscribe to our channel for more videos like this!
11:44Also, be sure to check out our other videos over there!
11:45See you next time!
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16:32The ground is shaking, flocks of birds are flying away.
16:36You can hear a loud, low rumble.
16:39The volcano spits out a giant ash cloud.
16:42Lava is flowing from the mouth of the fiery mountain.
16:45Rivers of fire are running down and dashing towards you.
16:49You have nowhere to escape.
16:50The fire is getting closer and closer, and…
16:53Wait a minute.
16:54This lava isn't hot, it's cold!
16:56How is that possible?
16:59You can observe cold lava flows near many volcanoes.
17:03In Indonesia, for example, this phenomenon has recently destroyed entire villages.
17:08Yes, it's not hot, but it's still dangerous.
17:12Cold lava streams occur when hot lava mixes with ash, sand, and pebbles during wet weather.
17:18In a sense, the volcano spews out streams of heavy mud.
17:22It covers roads, houses, cars, and trees.
17:26Cold lava flows are a destructive phenomenon, so stay away from them.
17:30Even if some volcano is very beautiful and you want to take cool photos, don't take
17:35any chances.
17:36OK, let's relax a little and end our video with something fun.
17:41How about surfing?
17:43But instead of ordinary waves, we have icy ones!
17:46This phenomenon is called the ice wave.
17:50It looks as if someone paused a wave while it was forming before it hit the water.
17:55It's a rare occurrence, but you can find it on Mount Washington.
18:00The top of the mountain is shrouded in fog most of the year.
18:04Cold temperatures, humidity, and winds form frost.
18:08Then strong winds force this frost sideways, and thus, a wavy shape forms.
18:14And when there's a wave, you can ski or snowboard inside, like a surfboard!
18:19But be careful, it's pretty cold in there, so wear warm clothes!
18:26If you were visiting Earth from another planet, your rational mind just wouldn't understand
18:31how singing dunes and moving balls of lightning were scientifically possible.
18:36I bet you'll feel like these images are just stills from your favorite sci-fi movie!
18:42You better hope you never find yourself alone near Catatumbo River in Venezuela during one
18:47of its lightning storms.
18:49Because if you were, you'd be surprised to find out that lightning works both ways, meaning
18:54it can come from the sky and from the ground.
18:57Terrifying, I know!
18:59Scientists think that in this case, it probably happens because of a high presence of uranium
19:03in the bedrock.
19:05But it can also happen due to cold and warm air currents that meet around that area.
19:10This makes the electric field get all charged up and the bolt flips, traveling from ground
19:15to cloud.
19:18Scientists even have a fancy name for it, upward lightning!
19:22This special place, called Catatumbo River, became famous because of its light shows.
19:27Actually, the name means, house of thunder in the local language.
19:32This phenomenon happens for up to 160 nights a year, and it can last around 9 hours a day.
19:39When scientists counted, they realized that the area could produce anything from 16 to
19:4540 flashes of lightning per minute!
19:48Now you've probably heard of Marco Polo, the 13th century Venetian merchant and world
19:53traveler.
19:54Well, in one of his voyages, he came across what he could only describe as singing dunes.
20:01The dunes literally started rumbling, like they were playing drums, and freaked him out
20:05so much, he thought it was the works of evil invisible entities messing with him.
20:11Fast forward to our times, and scientists have discovered how sand dunes produce these
20:16rumbles.
20:17A team of scientists studied a singing dune in Morocco.
20:21They chose a large, crescent-shaped one that makes noise all year round.
20:26If the wind is right, this dune can sing a few times every afternoon.
20:32It turns out that the wind forces sand to accumulate at the top of the dune until the
20:36angle of the slope reaches a tipping point of about 35 degrees.
20:42This accumulated sand drops down like an avalanche, and that's what produces a sound.
20:47The sand needs to be dry enough for the singing to happen, though.
20:51They're like nature's boombox.
20:53Isn't that something?
20:55This next one might be the most disturbing of them all.
20:58First, you'll see a flash of lightning, then a thundering boom, and finally, a curious
21:04light floating through the air and bouncing off surfaces like a white electric ball.
21:11Would you also hide under your blanket if you witnessed something like this?
21:15That's what an old lady did when she witnessed this from bed in her Chicago apartment.
21:19It turns out, people have been swapping their own ball lightning stories for hundreds of
21:24years.
21:25An English monk's report from the early 1000s might be the oldest version of these accounts.
21:31It talks about a fiery globe descending from a storm cloud and falling into the river Thames.
21:37The thing is, scientists aren't entirely sure what causes it, but one theory involves
21:42lightning striking silica-rich soil.
21:45This can vaporize silica, creating tiny particles bound by electrical charges.
21:51When these particles react with oxygen, they produce glowing orbs, which can last a few
21:56seconds.
21:58Some other theories say that it can be linked to miniature black holes, or even hallucinations.
22:04But the silica explanation is the best contender so far.
22:08What they know for sure is that ball lightning is often linked to stormy weather.
22:14If you'd wake up in the middle of a wintry night and saw these lights, you'd probably
22:19think otherworldly people were invading our world.
22:22Or you'd feel like one of the lucky people who got to see the northern lights during
22:26your lifetime.
22:27But none are correct.
22:30These beautiful shafts of pastel-colored light were photographed by a guy in Ontario, Canada.
22:36They happen when tiny, flat ice crystals that usually reside up in the atmosphere, float
22:42closer to the ground.
22:44They're sometimes called columns of violet light, and they reflect light from sources
22:48like streetlights or cars.
22:51These reflections stretch into tall, colorful columns that look like they're glowing in
22:56the sky.
22:58The best part is that it's mostly an optical illusion.
23:01The pillars aren't really in the air, they're just a trick of light bouncing off the ice.
23:08Somewhere near Buffalo, New York, you'll find a surreal combination of the fire and water
23:14elements.
23:15This phenomenon is called the eternal flame falls, precisely because it never stops burning.
23:22Even if it's so near the water.
23:24This is due to a chemical reaction where gas leaks out of the ground and combusts with
23:29the air.
23:31It's one out of a few hundred natural eternal flames around the world.
23:36But the 30 feet tall waterfall is probably the most beautiful one.
23:41Now, how does it get lit the first time around?
23:45Usually eternal flames can be ignited by lightning, human activity, or something called piezoelectricity,
23:52which is basically when certain materials make electricity when you squeeze, press,
23:57or twist them.
23:59Scientists believe that Native Americans lit these flames thousands of years ago, but that's
24:04just a hunch.
24:06Have you ever imagined going for a midnight swim and suddenly finding yourself surrounded
24:11by a glowing blue haze?
24:13As if there were huge cannons of light coming out of the seabed directly into the surface.
24:19This phenomenon is rare, but it sure is magical.
24:23This chemical reaction is known as bioluminescence, and it can happen in different situations.
24:30One example is when tiny algae organisms migrate near the seashores.
24:34When these algae are disturbed, they try to defend themselves by glowing and just happen
24:39to create the most beautiful spectacle.
24:43There's also a specific place in the world where you can see a similar phenomenon.
24:46It's in New Zealand.
24:48Hidden deep within the country's caves lie the so-called glowworms.
24:53They are the larval species of a fungus that happen to be luminescent.
24:57If you're lucky enough to tour around these caves, you'll feel like you're floating inside
25:02an underground galaxy.
25:05The sky can create lots of different cool phenomena, and this specific one is called
25:10a crown flash.
25:12If you were seeing it with your own eyes, you'd see a column of light jumping or dancing
25:17near the top of a cumulus nimbus cloud.
25:20Think of cumulus nimbus as massive, towering clouds that look like fluffy mountains.
25:27These are the clouds that usually announce thunderstorms, lightning, and heavy rain.
25:31Now, although you'd probably think crown flashes looked like some supernatural energetic door
25:38opening to the heavens, this is a very scientific phenomenon.
25:42It happens when sunlight reflects off tiny ice crystals inside the cloud.
25:47But here's the cool part.
25:49Those ice crystals aren't just floating around randomly.
25:53They're moving because of shifts in the cloud's electric field.
25:57As the field changes, the ice crystals realign, and the light they reflect moves too.
26:03That's why the crown flash looks like it's flickering or waving.
26:06Crown flashes don't happen all the time.
26:09You need a thundercloud with the right conditions, lots of sunlight, ice crystals, and a strong
26:14electric field.
26:16If you ever spot one, consider yourself lucky.
26:19It's like nature showing off a rare light trick.
26:23We usually see ever-burning hills in sci-fi movies, but this one is real.
26:28Located in the Arctic region of Canada, the so-called Smoking Hills is an unmatched sight
26:33on our planet.
26:35And here, things get even a little science fiction-y, since some minerals that exist
26:40in these hills were only ever found in a few places on our planet and outside it, like
26:46on the surface of Mars.
26:48The ground of Smoking Hills has been releasing smoke for at least a couple hundred years,
26:54non-stop.
26:55Explorers thought the area was home to an active volcano, but that was not the case.
27:00As science explains, the soil in the area is formed by sulfur and coal, and when they're
27:05in contact with oxygen, they spontaneously ignite, releasing constant smoke.
27:11I just warn you, don't be getting any touristic ideas.
27:15The environment is extremely hostile to human life, as the smoke is toxic, and its temperatures
27:21are dangerously high.
27:24Salt makes our chips and popcorn taste yummy, but it turns out that's not all.
27:29It's used in household and industrial products, from cosmetics to fertilizers, from water
27:34treatment to road gritting.
27:37All over the globe, around 300 tons of salt are produced every year.
27:42But there's a problem.
27:44That's too much salt for our planet.
27:46You see, salt rises to Earth's surface from deep oceanic rocks gradually, and this process
27:52is quite balanced, or it used to be.
27:55Humans are pushing this balance out of whack.
27:58Our demand keeps increasing, and we're releasing too much salt into the soil, air, and sea.
28:04And if this process continues unchecked, we might face an existential threat.
28:09Yep, it's as serious as that, and a recent study conducted by the University of Maryland
28:14confirms this.
28:16There is this thing called the natural salt cycle.
28:19It's existed for thousands of years.
28:22Salt naturally rises to our planet's surface via geologic uplift and rock weathering.
28:28Sometime later, rocks break down and release salt ions into the soil.
28:33Some of these ions are absorbed by plants and organisms.
28:36Others are washed away into rivers, which transport them into oceans.
28:41Salt also gets into the atmosphere.
28:43It happens through salt dust in dry regions and sea spray in coastal areas.
28:49It's crucial for humans because our bodies need salt, just like animals and plants do.
28:55Simply put, we're electrical systems controlled by salt.
29:00Soil needs salt because otherwise it won't clump together.
29:04Plants also need small amounts of salt since those allow them to have proper metabolism
29:08and synthesize enough chlorophyll.
29:12At the same time, too much salt isn't a great thing, and nowadays, human activity is messing
29:17with the natural salt cycle, bringing salt to the planet's surface much more quickly
29:22than before.
29:23That's the conclusion researchers made after combining data from different sources, including
29:28the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Yearbook and Global Records of River Compositions and
29:33Salinity Measurements.
29:36The main factor bringing about these changes is salt mining for food and other products.
29:42Then there are also acid rains.
29:44Those increase the rate of rock weathering.
29:47These and other factors speed up the generation of salt at the surface of our planet.
29:52At the moment, the concentration of salt in the world is too high.
29:56The soil, plants, and animals can't use all of it.
30:00Even worse, some essential species can't survive with all this extra salt.
30:05Their demise changes biodiversity and can lead to the appearance of invasive species,
30:11such as phragmites.
30:12Those are tall, riddy plants taking over coastal areas.
30:17Then there's also zooplankton, an important ocean species regulating algae.
30:22It's extremely sensitive to salt.
30:25If this species starts to decline, it might mess with the world's food webs.
30:30Too much salt also turns farmlands into wastelands.
30:34Recent reports have shown that around 833 hectares of land are already affected.
30:40And that's the area around four times the size of India!
30:45In some countries, huge areas become infertile because of oversalination.
30:50Plus, excess salt is bad for our health.
30:54The thing is, all that extra salt gets into groundwater, making it too salty for human
30:59consumption.
31:00It's particularly bad for people with sodium-restricted diets.
31:04And I'm not only talking about table salt or sodium chloride.
31:08No, other calcium and magnesium-based salts are seeping out too, usually from the production
31:14of fertilizers and building materials.
31:17It's like a chemical cocktail of different salts coming from various sources.
31:21And scientists don't know yet the effects such a cocktail can have on us humans and
31:26our health.
31:28So maybe now you're sitting and thinking, oh, it's time to cut back on my salt intake.
31:34Perhaps, but don't cut it all out.
31:37In the 1930s, Dr. Robert McCance from Cambridge University's Department of Experimental
31:43Medicine found four volunteers and asked them to go 10 days completely without salt.
31:49First, they had to sweat out the salt that still remained in their bodies.
31:53And after that, the scientists literally desalinated everything they were allowed to eat and drink.
31:59Soon after, the participants started to experience weird sensations.
32:04They realized that they didn't taste much flavor in anything they consumed.
32:08It got worse.
32:10Fatigue set in, and the volunteers soon got too tired to even eat.
32:15They began to show the signs of hyponatremia.
32:18It occurs when the concentration of sodium in your blood is dangerously low.
32:23And that's when a person's blood cells swell because there's not enough salt in the blood
32:27to regulate how much water a cell should and will consume.
32:32If this condition is left untreated, it can not only result in seizures but also have
32:37much, much worse consequences.
32:40At the end of the trial period, participants got some salty foods, and miraculously, within
32:46a few minutes, they could taste again, and their energy seemed to be replenished almost
32:50immediately.
32:52Honestly, it sounds kind of terrifying.
32:55If that's what a mere 10 days without salt are, imagine what catastrophe it would be
33:00if salt just ceased to exist.
33:03We wouldn't be able to last long, that's for sure.
33:05And it would be a never-ending drama not only for us but for plants and animals too.
33:11They need salt as much as we do.
33:13If our oceans suddenly lost all the salt, it would wipe out all underwater algae, cutting
33:19photosynthesis on Earth almost in half.
33:23Land-based plants would follow suit.
33:25So, soon after the disappearance of salt, we'd face a huge issue.
33:30Too much carbon dioxide and not nearly enough oxygen.
33:34Our climate would start fluctuating between extremely hot and cold temperatures, and hurricanes
33:39would become insanely powerful and super destructive.
33:43Luckily, we still have salt at our stores and the natural salt cycle might get more
33:47or less stable again.
33:49By the way, humanity has known of and appreciated salt for many centuries.
33:55For example, it was used as offerings and to preserve mummies in ancient Egypt.
34:00It was a valuable commodity, traded between the Phoenicians and their Mediterranean empire.
34:06In ancient China, people knew of more than 40 types of salt and used it for medicinal
34:11purposes.
34:13In medieval continental Europe, Venice gained power through its salt monopoly.
34:18The production and transportation of salt led to the appearance of new cities and the
34:22construction of roads.
34:25Salzburg, the city of salt in Austria, is a great example of that.
34:30Even these days, salt continues to surprise us.
34:34For example, recently, researchers from the University of Miami Rosensteil School of Marine
34:39and Atmospheric Science have discovered rare deep-sea brine pools in the Gulf of Acaba.
34:46That's a northern extension of the Red Sea.
34:48Those salty underwater lakes are likely to hold secrets about the way oceans on Earth
34:53formed all those millions of years ago.
34:57They might also give us some clues to life on other planets.
35:01Brine pools are some of the most extreme environments on Earth.
35:05And still, despite their ultra-high salinity, somewhat exotic chemistry, and total lack
35:10of oxygen, they're teeming with life.
35:14Researchers have even found bioactive molecules with potential anti-cancer properties in brine
35:19pool microbes in the Red Sea.
35:22These super-salty, zero-oxygen brine pools are located close to the coast and might preserve
35:28information on tsunamis, earthquakes, and flash floods that took place in the Gulf of
35:33Acaba thousands of years ago.
35:37Salt has even made its way into space!
35:39Well, kind of.
35:40You see, the moon is like a comet soaring through the cosmos.
35:44Our natural satellite is followed by a slender tail consisting of irradiated matter, and
35:49our planet passes directly through this tail once a month.
35:53Well, according to a study published in the journal JGR Planets, this lunar tail is made
35:59of millions of sodium atoms.
36:02And as you already know, the chemical formula of salt is sodium chloride.
36:07Those atoms get blasted out of the lunar soil by meteor strikes and then pushed thousands
36:13of miles downstream by solar radiation.
36:16For several days a month, when the new moon is located between Earth and the Sun, the
36:21gravity of our planet drags that sodium tail into a long beam which wraps around our planet's
36:27atmosphere.
36:28The tail itself is harmless and invisible to the unaided eye, but during those new moon
36:33days, high-powered telescopes can detect the faint orange glow of sodium in the sky.
36:39The surface of this river looks as if it's covered with fish scales.
36:43Is it a giant water dragon or some other ancient monster?
36:48Not really.
36:49The explanation is much more boring, but surprising at the same time.
36:53Now let's start from the very beginning.
36:55This is the Shantang River in China, and this is Hangzhou Bay, its estuary, which is the
37:00tidal mouth of a river, where the tide meets the stream itself.
37:04Now this area is home to the world's largest tidal bores.
37:07A tidal bore is a strong tide that pushes up the river against the current.
37:12In the Shantang River, such tidal bores can reach a whopping 29 feet.
37:17The area regularly sees trains of large waves moving upstream.
37:21But in 2021, during a scientific expedition, experts discovered a marvelous natural phenomenon
37:28unique to this area.
37:30Sometimes the tide comes in swirling waves.
37:33That's the famous fish-scale tide.
37:36Thing is, this region has rotating currents, which means that the tide doesn't just move
37:41inland and then simply reverses its direction.
37:43Uh-uh.
37:44Instead, a rotating current easily changes direction without changing its speed.
37:50This makes the Shantang River perfect for winding up with groups of waves crashing into
37:54one another at oblique angles, which is like a cross-sea.
37:58Let's speak about this phenomenon now.
38:02These four-sided wave patterns in the ocean look mesmerizing, as if the ocean deities
38:07decided to play a round of giant chess.
38:10But what you observe is the phenomenon known as square waves.
38:14They're often called cross-sea and grid waves, too.
38:17The thing is, most waves reach the shore and break parallel to the coastline.
38:22But in some regions of the world, these waves create a chessboard-like pattern on the surface
38:27of the water.
38:28When you look at these waves from above, you might think there's an underwater grid forming
38:32square-shaped ripples.
38:34But square waves aren't caused by anything taking place beneath the surface of the water.
38:39They're the result of the way the water moves.
38:41Weather patterns in certain regions make waves form at different angles.
38:45When two opposing swelves crash, we've got this unique pattern on our hands.
38:51However beautiful and unusual this natural phenomenon is, it's also extremely dangerous.
38:57If you spot square waves while swimming, get out of the water immediately.
39:01Square waves usually come hand-in-hand with rip currents, incredibly strong currents flowing
39:06seaward from the shore.
39:08Plus, square waves can reach 10 feet in height, and that's not something even an experienced
39:13swimmer can deal with.
39:15So we're done with the seas for the moment and are moving to the largest active volcano
39:19in Europe.
39:20It's Etna, and it continues to amaze us with jaw-dropping smoke ring shows.
39:25But wait!
39:26People live there!
39:27Isn't it time to evacuate them?
39:29The volcano looks like it's about to go off.
39:32Well, let's calm down, there's no need to fuss.
39:35Experts assure us that the production of such rings doesn't mean that a big eruption
39:39is on the way.
39:41These white smoke rings are made of water vapor and are generated by bursts of gas bubbles
39:46inside a narrow duct over a magma chamber.
39:49Etna was even nicknamed the Lady of the Ring, and currently, the volcano is breaking its
39:54own records.
39:55For example, in the year 2000, the volcano produced around 5,000 such smoke rings.
40:02According to researchers, no other volcano on Earth produces as many volcanic vortex
40:06rings as Etna.
40:08Southeast Crater is especially active.
40:10It emits countless beautiful vapor rings.
40:14Now don't look away from the sky, you might witness something like what the residents
40:18of New Jersey saw recently.
40:20A massive fireball lit up the sky in the Garden State and surrounding areas.
40:25A meteor falling to the ground looked like a bright streak of light.
40:29And the folks of several New Jersey towns, as well as some parts of New York, Pennsylvania,
40:34and Connecticut reported this show to the American Meteor Society.
40:38Security camera footage posted online by some witnesses of this awesome phenomenon showed
40:43the flash dash across the sky within a couple of seconds at 3.43 a.m.
40:49Another unbelievable phenomenon captured recently is one of the rarest in the world and almost
40:54impossible to see with the unaided eye.
40:57A West Australian photographer was shooting a wet-season thunderstorm just outside of
41:02Derby when he managed to film on camera a few red sprites.
41:06He said later that they were gone in the blink of an eye.
41:09He described red sprites as huge feathery tendrils of purple and red and specks of bright
41:15red.
41:17Red sprites are massive electrical discharges that take different shapes and look like reddish-orange
41:22flashes.
41:23They last for just fractions of a second and occur after super-strong lightning strokes.
41:28Even though they're usually caused by the lightning discharges between a thundercloud
41:32and the ground, sprites soar up into the air, up to 60 miles.
41:37Interestingly, this phenomenon had been dismissed and considered to be fiction for decades until
41:43scientists finally caught it on film.
41:45Since that time, red sprites have been recorded regularly.
41:50Catatumbo lightning is the world's longest lightning storm.
41:53The heart of the storm, which repeats every year, is over the mouth of the Catatumbo River
41:58where it empties into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.
42:02This storm towers higher than a regular one.
42:04Catatumbo lightning occurs for 140 to 160 nights a year, lasts for 9 hours a day, and
42:12produces 16 to 40 lightning flashes per minute.
42:15Maybe you've heard of how they say lightning doesn't strike the same place twice?
42:19Well, Catatumbo doesn't seem to know about this rule.
42:23Or at least, it doesn't prevent storm clouds from gathering in the very same place year
42:27after year.
42:30A fellow hill-walking in the UK has captured amazing shots of a weather phenomenon that
42:36was called an angel in the sky.
42:38So look at it.
42:40This scene was captured with a Canon 5D Mark IV camera.
42:43The silhouette, though, isn't some non-material thing.
42:46It's just the shadow of the photographer at the center of a circular rainbow.
42:51Mesmerized, the photographer took a few more photos and continued walking.
42:57Such an effect is produced when an observer stands above the upper surface of a cloud.
43:02It can also be a mountain or some other high ground, and the sun should be shining from
43:06behind their back.
43:08When the observer sees their shadow, the light is reflected in such a way that a bizarre
43:12circular glory appears around the point directly opposite the sun.
43:18Another cool sky phenomenon was witnessed in Auckland.
43:21Look at this.
43:22What does it remind you of?
43:24I bet you think it looks like a spaceship from a different civilization.
43:27But it's just a rare meteorological phenomenon.
43:31Everyone who saw this circular cloud formation said it looked like a hole in the cloud cover.
43:36And some also added that a small rainbow was visible inside.
43:41This phenomenon is known as a fall-streak hole and a punch-hole cloud.
43:45Such a formation is quite rare.
43:48Even experts have seen it just a few times throughout their careers.
43:52What happens here is some sort of atmospheric disturbance within super-cooled water.
43:57The disturbance being an airplane or something similar.
44:00As a result, the super-cooled water rapidly turns into ice crystals.
44:04Since the crystals are heavier than the surrounding cloud, they fall out, leaving a hole behind.
44:10The process happens high up in the atmosphere and is quick.
44:13It takes only minutes or so.
44:15Well, let's get back to the ground and examine the phenomenon people in the US can witness.
44:20It's an extremely rare one.
44:22Nothing similar has happened like this since 1803.
44:26What is it?
44:27Billions of cicadas from two different broods are merging together from the underground
44:31after more than 200 years.
44:34All these loud singing insects belong to two distinct families of periodical cicadas.
44:40One group emerges to the surface every 13 years, and the other every 17 years.
44:46It's a rare occurrence when the cycles of both groups align.
44:49This year, this once-in-a-lifetime event is taking place since two groups with different
44:54cycles are emerging at the same time.
44:57These broods are known as Brood 13 and Brood 19.
45:01They have been seen and heard across the southern US and as far north as Illinois.
45:10That's it for today!
45:11So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
45:16friends.
45:17Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!