A closer look

For centuries, people who claimed they saw glowing orbs floating through their living rooms were politely told they were insane. Turns out, they were witnessing extreme soil chemistry. When regular lightning strikes dirt, it vaporizes the silica inside it. As the silicon vapor cools, it clumps into highly reactive nanoparticle aerosols that slowly burn in the oxygen-rich air, forming a terrifying, hovering ball of plasma that eventually fizzles out or violently explodes.