What are earthquake lights?
Phenomena such as sheet lightning, balls of light, streamers, and steady glows, reported in association with earthquakes are called earthquake lights (EQL). Geophysicists differ on the extent to which they think that individual reports of unusual lighting near the time and epicenter of an earthquake actually represent EQL: some doubt that any of the reports constitute solid evidence for EQL, whereas others think that at least some reports plausibly correspond to EQL. Physics-based hypotheses have been proposed to explain specific classes of EQL reports, such as those in the immediate vicinity of the causative fault at the time of a major earthquake. On the other hand, some reports of EQL have turned out to be associated with electricity arcing from the power lines shaking.
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Damage in Cushing, Oklahoma from the Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake in 2016
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Aurora
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's VISIONS—VISualizing Ion Outflow via Neutral atom imaging during a Substorm—sounding rocket mission is studying what makes auroras and how they affect Earth’s atmosphere. The VISIONS rocket was launched at night in Poker Flats, Alaska, in February 2013. Credit: Joshua Strang, U.S. Air Force
1964 Alaskan Earthquake Damage
Damage from the 1964 Alaskan Earthquake. Credit: USGS
Northridge, CA Earthquake Damage
Collection of USGS still images taken after the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake highlighting the damage to buildings and infrastructure.
Mw6.6 Lushan China Earthquake, April 20 2013
Damage to a village house. Longxingcun.