A woman has filmed an incredible type of lightning that is so rare, scientists still aren't sure how it is formed. Watch it here:
Mary-Ann Fletcher shared the video to TikTok, writing: "Apparently this is called 'ball lightning' which is the rarest form of lightning.
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"It's so rare that we don't even know how it forms other than by heat, static, electricity and humidity."
Ball lightning is an as-yet-unexplained phenomenon. It usually features luminescent, spherical objects that can be pea-sized or several metres in diameter, and appear to be balls of electricity.
TikTokers had their own varied theories though:
One said: "Bruh I've seen Pikachu do that in Super Smash."
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Others argued among themselves, with one saying: "No that's just Thor," and another adding: "Nah it's just a gender reveal." A third also joked: "That's just Sonic doing his daily laps."
One person thought it was their next day Amazon package coming in, while another replied: "I think that's an angel, once I saw one, but it was just a circular shadow on the street, I looked at the sky but didn't see anything flying."
When it comes to what actually causes ball lightning, there are a range of possibilities.
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In a 2012 study, researchers from China's Northwest Normal University accidentally recorded an instance of ball lightning while studying a 2012 thunderstorm. It appeared after a lightning strike and travelled along the floor.
A device they used - called a spectrometer - detected silicon, iron and calcium in the ball - all of which were present in the soil. This supports one popular theory, which suggests ball lightning occurs when oxygen reacts with the ground.
Other studies have associated it with glass in windows surrounding the point hit by the lightning in built-up areas, while others say it could be microwave radiation produced when it hits the ground.
But after all the experiments, scientists still haven't pinned down exactly what causes the event.
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Another bizarre incident took place last year, which resulted in a 'one in a million' moment that saw a bolt of lightning struck the curve of a rainbow. Watch it below:
Steven Miller, 33, had been teaching a personal training class in his garden when the storm arrived near his home.
Seconds after getting his smartphone out, a large bolt of lightning crossed the sky, following the path of the bend of the rainbow.
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In theory it shouldn't be particularly rare to see this sort of thing, but to actually grab a photograph of the two in action together is slightly trickier.
Steven, from Wrexham, north Wales, said: "It was a case of being in the right place at the right time. I was teaching a class in my back garden when I heard this constant rumbling.
"It almost sounded a bit like an earthquake with its long mumbling. I had never heard anything like it before. After the class was over I decided to take a look at it from my front door."
Featured Image Credit: PexelsTopics: Interesting, TikTok