Min Min Lights: Mysterious Lights in the Australian Outback
8.1 هزار بار بازدید -
4 سال پیش
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Min Min lights are strange
Min Min lights are strange and unexplained light phenomenon observed in the Australian outback. This video explores eyewitness accounts, scientific theories, as well as the folklore surrounding this phenomenon.
TRANSCRIPT
“In the dark lonely nights of the Queensland outback, spooky lights may be seen along the old Boulia track. These lights known as Min Min may follow your car, sometimes they're mistaken for the moon or a star. But if you should chase them and they move swiftly away, give up your pursuit, or for your safety I pray.”
These are words from a poem written about the Min Min lights -- a strange phenomenon observed in the remote outback region of Australia. Firsthand accounts of these lights abound as locals and visitors alike have been witness to it:
Description
The vast majority of the sightings are from the Channel Country in Outback Queensland, between the towns of Boulia and Winton. Stories about the lights have been circulating amongst Aboriginal communities long before British settlers have arrived. Some believed that those were the spirits of their dead ancestors.
In 1918, a stockman reported what will be the first documented sighting of the phenomenon. During this year, the Min Min Hotel burned down. The hotel had a reputation for modified alcohol and drugs and a number of people died over the years in brawls or robbery. They were buried behind the hotel and the graveyard remains to this day.
The stockman claimed that he was followed by the lights on his way to Boulia. According to his story, he witnessed a “strange glow appear right in the middle of the cemetery” which “got bigger, till it was about the size of a watermelon”. He sped up, but the lights kept on trailing him.
Based on numerous accounts over the years, the Min Min lights manifest itself as a fuzzy, circular disc, usually floating above the horizon. Most reports mention white lights, while some have manifested a gradual change in colour, from red to green, and back again. The way it moves is what brings chills to many eyewitnesses as it appears to have a mind of its own, sometimes moving close or retreating very quickly.
Theories
A number of possible theories have been put forward to explain the sightings. Bioluminescent fungi covering a flying bird or a cloud of insects is one explanation. There is also a very similar phenomenon called the “will-o’-the-wisp’ generally accepted to be caused by burning marsh gas.
In 2002, Australian polymath and neuroscientist Professor John Pettigrew published a commentary called “The Min Min Light and the Fata Morgana”. He claimed to have been able to reproduce the phenomenon and suggested that many of the strange properties of the Min Min lights can be explained by the unusual optical conditions of the Fata Morgana or inverted mirage. This occurs when light is refracted by a cold and dense ground layer of air, acting as a guide light over the horizon, at times for distances of hundreds of kilometres.
Of course, phenomena such as the Min Min lights merit a fair share of supernatural theories as well. Some say these are a form of atmospheric ghost lights -- a manifestation of wandering spirits of the dead, the work of devils, or the pranks of fairies. There is also an angle that, given the way it interacts with observers, it is a form of intelligence which lures people into a destination, as they do in stories of alien abductions. Lastly, a deep connection to land fosters the belief that the Min Min lights are spirits looking after the vast country.
Conclusion
Regardless of what one’s opinion is, there is no doubt that the Min Min lights have become a part of Australian folklore, and generations of Australians will continue to tell their children about it, the way the stories have been passed on from previous generations. Travellers driving around Channel Country will continue to report sightings of it, and if you are fortune enough to witness the Min Min lights in the future, keep in mind that a common folk story says those who follow the lights do not return to tell the tale.
TRANSCRIPT
“In the dark lonely nights of the Queensland outback, spooky lights may be seen along the old Boulia track. These lights known as Min Min may follow your car, sometimes they're mistaken for the moon or a star. But if you should chase them and they move swiftly away, give up your pursuit, or for your safety I pray.”
These are words from a poem written about the Min Min lights -- a strange phenomenon observed in the remote outback region of Australia. Firsthand accounts of these lights abound as locals and visitors alike have been witness to it:
Description
The vast majority of the sightings are from the Channel Country in Outback Queensland, between the towns of Boulia and Winton. Stories about the lights have been circulating amongst Aboriginal communities long before British settlers have arrived. Some believed that those were the spirits of their dead ancestors.
In 1918, a stockman reported what will be the first documented sighting of the phenomenon. During this year, the Min Min Hotel burned down. The hotel had a reputation for modified alcohol and drugs and a number of people died over the years in brawls or robbery. They were buried behind the hotel and the graveyard remains to this day.
The stockman claimed that he was followed by the lights on his way to Boulia. According to his story, he witnessed a “strange glow appear right in the middle of the cemetery” which “got bigger, till it was about the size of a watermelon”. He sped up, but the lights kept on trailing him.
Based on numerous accounts over the years, the Min Min lights manifest itself as a fuzzy, circular disc, usually floating above the horizon. Most reports mention white lights, while some have manifested a gradual change in colour, from red to green, and back again. The way it moves is what brings chills to many eyewitnesses as it appears to have a mind of its own, sometimes moving close or retreating very quickly.
Theories
A number of possible theories have been put forward to explain the sightings. Bioluminescent fungi covering a flying bird or a cloud of insects is one explanation. There is also a very similar phenomenon called the “will-o’-the-wisp’ generally accepted to be caused by burning marsh gas.
In 2002, Australian polymath and neuroscientist Professor John Pettigrew published a commentary called “The Min Min Light and the Fata Morgana”. He claimed to have been able to reproduce the phenomenon and suggested that many of the strange properties of the Min Min lights can be explained by the unusual optical conditions of the Fata Morgana or inverted mirage. This occurs when light is refracted by a cold and dense ground layer of air, acting as a guide light over the horizon, at times for distances of hundreds of kilometres.
Of course, phenomena such as the Min Min lights merit a fair share of supernatural theories as well. Some say these are a form of atmospheric ghost lights -- a manifestation of wandering spirits of the dead, the work of devils, or the pranks of fairies. There is also an angle that, given the way it interacts with observers, it is a form of intelligence which lures people into a destination, as they do in stories of alien abductions. Lastly, a deep connection to land fosters the belief that the Min Min lights are spirits looking after the vast country.
Conclusion
Regardless of what one’s opinion is, there is no doubt that the Min Min lights have become a part of Australian folklore, and generations of Australians will continue to tell their children about it, the way the stories have been passed on from previous generations. Travellers driving around Channel Country will continue to report sightings of it, and if you are fortune enough to witness the Min Min lights in the future, keep in mind that a common folk story says those who follow the lights do not return to tell the tale.
4 سال پیش
در تاریخ 1399/01/30 منتشر شده
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