One of the followers of this website found an interesting article regarding “strange sounds” from 1869.
This article is from something called Proceedings—The Meteorological Society, 1869. It appears to be letters sent to this association describing “strange sound” experiences.
See! People were hearing weird things 140 years ago. Maybe these booms, etc. are cyclical and that’s why we haven’t heard of them until recently.
When I read these letters I was amused at how these people go into elaborate descriptions of what they heard, comparing the sounds to all sorts of things.
So I got this bright idea to post excerpts of the letters along with whatever video I could find to illustrate the description.
This essay is an unscientific attempt to offer information about CMEs, solar flares and strange sounds, in the simplest of terms. Please forgive me if I oversimplify the possibilities of the connection.
There is much talk about coronal mass ejections (CMEs) causing strange sounds. A CME is defined as solar wind, plasma and magnetic fields from the sun. These are injected into space by the sun and are believed to originate from sunspots associated with frequent solar flares. See more here.
The earth is surrounded by something called the magnetosphere. Solar winds energize particles in this magnetic field that stimulate molecules and result in auroras. Auroras produce beautiful bands of color that can be seen in the North and South poles of the Earth.
Okay that wasn’t easy. I tried to break it down in the simplest of terms and if I forgot something, you get the gist anyway. Read more at the Geophysical Institute in Alaska here.
Now that we know the effect of CMEs on the Earth we can look at an event that occurred in 1859. According to the video below, filmed with NASA-Goddard astronomer, Sten Odenwald, the Earth has seen some spectacular effects of CMEs in the past.
In September of 1859, a clipper ship, in rough seas off the coast of Chile, experienced auroras of blood red accompanied by crimson lights. Even compasses ceased to work. They survived, but upon their return they discovered these strange skys covered two-thirds of the world.
Around this time, amateur astronomer Richard Carrington (here) observed sunspots that produced an enormous solar flare. The flare was ten times the diameter of the earth. As a result, auroras were seen over a great portion of the earth.
The electrical charge of this CME disrupted communications via telegraph around the world. The paper of the telegraph machines actually burned. When they cut power to the machines they continued to function solely on the electric charges surging through the air. This would be akin to the internet being disrupted due to the same cause. The largest flares recorded recently aren’t half the size of the one from the Carrington event. Scientists are confident we’ll experience such a disruption in the future. See more here.
A terrific and not boring video below describes the Carrington Event, auroras and CMEs.
Solar activity spikes within an eleven year cycle. We are currently within this cycle. There has been much solar activity recently, but this February 14th event has scientists scratching their heads.
A magnetic disturbance without a solar flare created spectacular auroras. This was created without an uptick in solar activity.
“Sometimes the sky surprises us,” astronomer Tony Phillips wrote on Spaceweather.com. “On Feb. 14-15, with little warning, geomagnetic activity rippled around the Arctic Circle, producing an outbreak of auroras that veteran observers said was among the best in months.”
The below video shows the incredible auroras that were recorded during this February 14th event.
Now let’s get to the business of an association of CMEs with “strange sounds”. Can “strange sounds” be heard? Yes and no.
Apparently Yellowstone National Park has had it’s share of strange sounds. I came across an amazing article called “Overhead Sounds in the Vicinity of Yellowstone Lake” from Science Magazine, 1893, by Edwin Linton. To my amazement and shock, witnesses claimed to have heard what may be metallic sky sounds.
This account from Shohone Lake by Professor S.A. Forbes:
That’s one wild description! These historical accounts use amazing descriptive terms that have to be read a few times to imagine what the heck they’re talking about. Are they describing metallic sky noises that we’ve seen in videos?
From an account of Edwin Linton:
What struck me in this description is “It appeared to be a rather indefinite, reverberating sound, characterized by a slight metallic resonance.” Wow! Could there be some truth to all the metallic sound reports happening today?
Yellowstone Park has 1,000 to 3,000 earthquakes each year. They’re small and are rarely felt, but the region is one of the most seismically active in the United States. Could metallic sounds be related to seismic activity?
The following is very strong evidence that while sky roaring is occurring with much frequency, it isn’t a new phenomenon. This should put us at ease in regards to it being a “sign of the apocalypse”. (Insert 1/18: Please be aware the “Sky Roars” are not the same as “Kiev Type Sounds”.)
Thank you youtube user hfoded for this extremely valuable information. This is impressive research.
Apparently these odd sky noises have been recorded as early as the 1850s. Hfoded sent me links to two examples taken from The Yearbook of Facts, published in 1851 and The British Meteorological Society, 1864.
You can read the full text here and here. I’ve pulled out sections of the article for comment.
The first is from The British Meteorological Society (BMS). It’s a letter from Alex Herschel, Esq. sent to Henry Stokes Eaton, Esq., Librarian. In the letter Mr. Herschel includes three letters sent to local newspapers describing what I believe is modern day sky roaring.
British Meteorological Society
In August of 1864 around 9pm, he witnessed the the moon clearly with stormy clouds here and there. He could hear the wind roaring in the trees but was struck by the fact that the air was calm. He walked toward the roaring sound, apparently directional, to a clearing. The noise appeared to be above the nearby village. I have observed in videos that while most sky roaring surrounds, it can also be directional.
Herschel Letter
He describes it as the “noise of spinning mills”. He goes on to mention rain, lightning and witness accounts of lunar rainbows. I found his description to be rambling and unclear. Incidentally, lunar rainbows just occurred in Florida, Kentucky and China. Interesting! I wonder if people are hearing sky noises too. Video below.
Although Herschel brings the event to the attention of the BMS, I’m much more interested in the three witness accounts sent to newspapers regarding the same incident.
First Newspaper Letter
The first letter describes the January 16th event with directional sound as a “heavy luggage train”. Because it was continuous this idea was dismissed. The sound lasted two hours. He says there was no rain or wind but an overcast sky. He speculates it’s still air between him and a layer of fast moving air.
