Roll mouse over above image for overlay of approximate path of the BL that was hidden from view. See MAP
BL Info 2

Witness Accounts

of the BL event photographed - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1st Feb 2002.

Summary.

Joe Stanleys' observation of it hurtling through the air in an upward curving path (positive parabola) indicates it 'bounced' or was 'propelled' some hundreds of feet in height travelling 5-6 km to Nunnawading / Blackburn after the first apparent impact point at Vermont. The "almost simultaneous.... jaggered path flash" seen by J.S. was most likely the cloud to ground strike occuring at the first impact point that was captured in the next frame (see below).

At its second impact point - around Nunawading Station - another loud explosion resulted and it was observed fleetingly having an outer corona of "about 40 feet" (B.Steventon). It then followed the train line over or through Blackburn Station and toward Laburnum Station but not quite all the way.

Finally it failed to take a bend on the line and ran off an embankment some 12 km from its starting point and simply disappeared in a very loud explosion. Somewhat smaller by that stage its centre core yellow ball was seen to be about one metre diameter and filled the backyard with its red/orange corona light.

I conclude that this was the sequence of one continuous event. Most witnesses recall the exact date and approximate time or for others "around 9pm on the Friday night when we had that huge storm at the beginning of February" which nearly everyone in Melbourne remembered. Unfortunately I have not been able to find out the precise time (to the minute) that it occured. All the witnesses concerned contacted me after either seeing the TV news report or the following local newspaper article in which I invited anyone who saw it to contact me. I believe many more must have actually witnessed it (such as at the busy intersection of Springvale Road railway crossing) and more may still be found. Including myself there are presently eight known witnesses. - Ern Mainka

1. NORTH DANDENONG - Fay and Peter Barnes ( about 12 km from B.L. )

"Looking NW to NNW an orange ball appeared, slow at first and then descended down, slightly to the left if anything" Peter said. It was observed low in the sky through a gap between trees. A clear view of the true horizon was obscured by more trees. It looked unusual enough for Fay to quickly draw it to the attantion of her husband who were both watching the intense lightning storm at the time. Her thoughts were that it was possibly a plane on fire and expected to hear reports, but there weren't any.

These witnesses were to the south and were very useful enabling me to complete a triangle of observers surrounding the event.

2. VERMONT - Paul Mahar.

"A very loud bang preceded a large (30m) Orange / Red glow which persisted for five seconds and then faded over a few more seconds. It was in a patch of trees in an adjoining paddock. One tree has died. It looked something like as if someone had lit a flare", Paul said.
Two trees (50m apart) seem to have been hit. The first one showing a circular area of dead leaves as if a sphere had passed through it with the leaves at the top still green. They were not burnt, just dead. The second tree - a 20-25 foot eucalypt - was near the centre of the glowing light that was observed and shows strike damage (typical of a normal strike) and is completely dead. There is no fire like charing but just fine shredding.
(above & below)

Looking S/E. First tree apparently hit by BL, showing a circular area of dead leaves. It appears to have come over the tall trees in the background and then firstly contacted this tree and passed through it.
(above)

Looking west and 50 metres from tree on left and below. Second tree hit and entirely dead. It was the centre of the Orange/Red light. A Cloud toGround strike apparently coinciding with the contact of the Ball Lightning here.

It looks very likely that the massive strike (right) captured in the next frame was somehow triggered or was connected with the BL touching down here. I seem to remember the motor drive advancing automaticaly relatively soon after the BL observation and thinking 'phew - got it'. The strike is also positioned in the correct vicinity of Vermont. I released the shutter for the next frame instantaneously where this strike is captured and seems to fit with J.S.'s description of a "jaggered flash" that was almost simultaneous with the appearence of the spheres.

3. EAST CAMBERWELL - Joe Stanley, Gavan St. ( about 5 to 10 km from B.L. )

" On the night of February 1st, 2002 between the hours of 8.45pm and 9.15pm I witnessed an electrical storm.

Through the glass doors and windows on the northern side of my home I noticed severe and extensive lightning. In particular I noticed a severe and jaggered pathed flash. Accompanying the flash almost simultaneously I saw lightning of a Yellow / Orange / Gold colour composed of what appeared as spheres with some interconnecting colour to give almost the impression of part of a necklace or string of beads. It was not connected by lightning either to the cloud or ground.

I recall seeing four spheres in the streak. Of the four balls the first two appeared to be both larger, brighter and more coloured. The path of the 'lightning' was not jaggered as in a natural lightning flash but followed a slight parabola. It was not accompanied by a thunder clap which I had expected to hear.

The path of the parabola appeared to come from the north east and was headed away from me in a north westerly direction. My first observation of the spheres occured in a direction approxiamately 30 degrees east of north.

From my observations I thought that the lightning may have terminated near the home of my daughter near the intersection of Middleborough and Whitehorse Roads. I rang her to see if there had been a lightning strike in her location and she informed me that there had not been. Considering my observations I found that surprising ". Joe Stanley
(Above) A recreated image of Joe Stanleys' observation after its first impact at Vermont and heading towards Nunnawading. Sparks or lightning were also observed eminating from it and it was changing shape which is difficult to illustrate here. Joe also observed an uneven outer yellow tinge on at least the first ball which appeared to change shape.
It is relatively easy to draw or paint an image in 'Photoshop' like the above simulation albeit lacking much detail. Whereas the true Ball Lightning photo I captured was shot on fine grain transparency film with stunning detail. The original is available for viewing by those with a professional interest in the science.

4. NUNNAWADING - B. Steventon, ( about 100 metres away, S/E)

Mrs. Steventon saw an Orange light briefly in the sky through a window looking toward Nunnawading Railway Station a hundred meters or so away. It was about 30-40 feet above the ground and about 40 feet wide. A simultaneous loud explosion occured. She said at first she thought a petrol station had gone up. She could not discern if the glowing Orange light was moving as she was watching T.V. at the time and caught it almost entirely out the corner of her eye and through a window. She ran outside immediately but it had gone. She commented that the light looked very strange and difficult to describe. However, seeing the photo I'd taken on the 6pm News and in the local paper provided her with a clear explanation of an otherwise unaccountable event.

5. BLACKBURN - E & S Hall.

A ball of light was observed 'rolling' down a railway embankment (obscured in L.H. photo below) and into their backyard. The railway line is mostly obscured by trees from the lounge room where it was observed from. It's core of bright yellow light was about one metre diameter and lit up the surrounding yard and trees with an Orange / Red light (corona). The view of it was partly obscured by vegetation but it appeared 'long' as in having a tail trailing back up the embankment. It made a very loud 'whooshing' noise as it came down stopping at a low level metal BBQ plate (see photo) where it disappeared with a loud bang. There appeared to be no sign of fire even though it was covered in dry pine needles. The event was short, lasting only about 2 seconds. Her teenage daughter was also in the lounge room but was seated and only saw the bright 'glowing' lighting up the backyard just before the very loud explosion.

It appears this was final 'ground zero' and tallies with Joe Stanleys estimate of where he thinks it would have come down from his viewpoint in East Camberwell / Burwood.

The resulting one metre wide and very bright Yellow 'core ball' of the BL was seen to be 'rolling' off the embankment (hidden from view by trees to the right in picture) and down to the metal BBQ plate (pictured right). No traces could be found. The dense foliage on the embankment suggests it rather floated over the tangled dense shrubs however a forward rotation as in 'rolling' was seen to be exhibited by the ball. There was stangely no apparent damage to the foliage (but it had been four months since the event) and probably skimmed over the bushes.
© 2002-2006 Ern Mainka