These clouds seemed to be glowing or somewhat luminous and seemed to resemble some characteristics of the Auroras.
An earthquake light is an unusual luminous aerial phenomenon, similar in appearance to the aurora borealis, that allegedly appears in the sky at or near areas of tectonic stress, seismic activity or volcanic eruptions. Scientific evidence for the presence of lights is sketchy, given that there are few references documenting the phenomenon.
The lights are most evident in the middle period of an earthquake, although there are reports of lights that occurred after or even before the earthquake, as in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. They usually have shapes similar to those of the auroras with white to bluish hue, but occasionally they have been reported to have a wider color spectrum. The luminosity is typically visible for several seconds, but there have been cases in which they lasted tens of minutes. In the 1930 Idu earthquake, lights were reported up to 70 miles from the epicentre.[1], although most lights are not so far away.
There have also been cases in which electromagnetic waves caused by the earthquake interfered with radio transmissions, such as during the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960.
Distinguishing earthquake lights from other transient optical phenomena can be difficult during the chaos of a tremor. For example, a bluish-white flashes that are accompanied by loud bangs or hissing during an earthquake are more likely the result of electrical arcing in power lines or transformers.
Tags: bizarre phenomenon sichuan earthquake glowing luminous clouds China 四川 汶川 大地震 甘肅 天水 地震雲 彩雲
