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Mystery Booms From The Sky (Skyquakes)

BakeliteBrain said:
Cochise said:
Atmospherics, I expect. I've heard 'explosions' before that turned out (probably) to be heated air rising through cold air - there was very warm air for the time of year next to the ground yesterday and it was cold overnight.

Any meteorologists out there who can confirm this rather odd mechanism for an atmospheric 'explosion'? I've never heard of such a thing nor can imagine how a very loud noise can be generated in the atmosphere without and 'explosion' caused by either a sonic boom, lightning or a bomb!

BBrain

Look up 'moodus noises'. Apparently heated air (In that case by sunlight on rock formations) can cause noises which are actually close by and not very loud but sound like big explosions far away. I have heard this effect on two different continents.
 
Cochise said:
BakeliteBrain said:
Cochise said:
Atmospherics, I expect. I've heard 'explosions' before that turned out (probably) to be heated air rising through cold air - there was very warm air for the time of year next to the ground yesterday and it was cold overnight.

Any meteorologists out there who can confirm this rather odd mechanism for an atmospheric 'explosion'? I've never heard of such a thing nor can imagine how a very loud noise can be generated in the atmosphere without and 'explosion' caused by either a sonic boom, lightning or a bomb!

BBrain

Look up 'moodus noises'. Apparently heated air (In that case by sunlight on rock formations) can cause noises which are actually close by and not very loud but sound like big explosions far away. I have heard this effect on two different continents.

Thanks for the Moodus Noises info.

My 'armchair research' suggests Moodus noises are not of atmospheric origin, but shallow micro earthquakes. So named after the town of Moodus in Connecticut where the phenomenon was first identified.

There a nice little 10-minute programme made by NPR about the noises made in Moodus itself - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA2mnVrqmHg

I suspect what you heard was something else and it would be interesting to know what the phenomenon is called an whether there are any documentation and reports.

BBrain
 
I don't insist on the 'atmospheric' explanation being correct. It's one of several I've seen suggested for the Moodus noises and similar occurrences. I'm not sure how you'd set up a scientifically acceptable test to explore the hypothesis.

It did seem to fit the circumstances I experienced where a group of us (out for an afternoon's archery, about 20 of us) heard loud and apparently distant explosions - to me they reminded me of heavy guns being tested, a noise I frequently heard in my childhood - and yet other people a mile away heard nothing. I have heard small earthquakes (we get them occasionally here near the Menai Strait) and they make a quite different noise, more like a unimaginably heavy lorry being driven past.
 
Mystery over 'loud boom' heard across parts of Bournemouth

POLICE and fire crews were called to a Bournemouth street after reports of a loud explosion last night.
Crews were sent to Nursling Green in Throop at 9pm but were unable to find the cause.
A spokesman for Dorset Fire and Rescue told the Daily Echo: “We were notified by the police and went along to liaise with local residents.
“We spoke to people in a number of streets and carried out a thorough search on foot but were unable to find anything.”

Residents reported the noise around 8.30pm, describing the noise as 'like an explosion'.
It was also heard by people living in Muscliff as well.
Firefighters were understood to have made door-to-door enquiries with residents, with one woman saying she saw armed police in the area as well

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/ne...m__heard_across_parts_of_Bournemouth/?ref=rss

It sounds a bit too localised to have been a meteor exploding in the atmosphere...
 
I'm afraid I have to officially duck out of first-hand commentary on mysterious hums and the like - I seem to have developed quite serious tinnitus over the last six months or so. It sounds like someone is driving a car round and round my house while boiling a kettle.
 
Somebody got their telly turned up too loud while watching old war movies, how rude
 
I'm afraid I have to officially duck out of first-hand commentary on mysterious hums and the like - I seem to have developed quite serious tinnitus over the last six months or so. It sounds like someone is driving a car round and round my house while boiling a kettle.
Sorry to hear that, tinnitus is dreadful. :(
 
Sorry to hear that, tinnitus is dreadful. :(

The GP has sent me to see a specialist - they won't to check that it actually is Tinnitus and not something else treatable like blocked Eustachian tubes. So fingers crossed. And thanks.
 
Anyone heard the double explosion in Yorkshire at approx. 21.50 this evening? Heard in Leeds, Pontefract and Harrogate. Had a look out and no sign of a meteor trail in the clear sky, and brother west of Leeds didn't hear anything but looked out after my text and saw nothing. My house shock with a enough force to make the settee move.
 
Russians flying too close again, eh?
 
Has anyone here heard of the 'Barisal Guns'? They have been happening in Bangladesh for centuries, it seems. It sounds similar to a field gun, and they are as yet unexplained.
 
Has anyone here heard of the 'Barisal Guns'? They have been happening in Bangladesh for centuries, it seems. It sounds similar to a field gun, and they are as yet unexplained.
There seems more on the web about a music group using this name!

But more amusing is this report of a cricket match:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/bangladesh-premier-league-2015-16/content/story/946637.html

And this:
Letters to Editor

Nature 53, 130-130 (12 December 1895) | doi:10.1038/053130b0


The Barisál Gun

H. S. OLCOTT


Abstract


I HAVE read with interest Dr. Darwin’s communication, in NATURE for October 31, on “The Barisál Guns and Mist Pouffers,” and his request that the readers of your journal should give accounts of their own experiences in this matter. I refer him to the Theosophist magazine, vol. ix. p. 705, and vol. xi. p. 409, for two articles upon my personal observations at Barisál village itself, in the Gangetic delta. All the various theories until then propounded by men of science to account for the phenomenon in question were severally reviewed and pronounced inadequate. I had intended writing a third and final article, but found it impracticable to throw any further light upon this most interesting problem, and so abstained. Dr. Darwin is quite wrong in supposing that the sound of the “Barisal Gun” is “dull and distant,” and that “it does not resemble artillery.” However the like sounds may seem to the Ostend lighthouse-keeper, they were so sharp and loud that I thought the “evening gun” was being fired at a cantonment in the village, and asked a friend standing by if that were so. I shall not encroach on your space to go into details, since the back volumes of the Theosophist may be consulted at the British Museum, and Dr. Darwin will make such use of them as he sees fit.


http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v53/n1363/abs/053130b0.html

(The Dr. Darwin referred to is not Charles Darwin, as he died in 1882.)

Clearly there is a mine of Forteana to be worked here. I for one would like to know what the Ostend Lighthouse keeper heard, as that's a place I've been to many times.
 
Sonic booms heard as RAF scrambles Typhoons

Loud bangs heard in parts of Yorkshire were sonic booms from Typhoon jets scrambled to identify "an unresponsive civilian aircraft", the RAF has said.
The aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, on Monday and helped guide an Air France plane to a safe landing in Newcastle.

People reported their houses shaking at about 21:50 BST after hearing what sounded like two loud explosions.
These were later confirmed to have been sonic booms.

An RAF spokesman said: "Quick reaction alert Typhoon aircraft were launched today from RAF Coningsby to identify an unresponsive civilian aircraft.
"Communications were re-established and the aircraft has been safely landed."

Reports suggested the jets had escorted the plane after it went off course.
Air France confirmed that the unresponsive civilian aircraft was one of its planes.
The airline tweeted from its official UK Twitter account: "Air France confirms that due to a radio communication problem AF 1558 had to be accompanied by two British fighter aircrafts according to the procedure.
"The aircraft landed in Newcastle at 22:20 (LT). Safety of clients & crew is an absolute priority."

North Yorkshire Police had tweeted to reassure people there was no danger, later writing: "Confirmation from RAF that loud bangs heard across the county were sonic booms from RAF Typhoon jets. No cause for concern."

One woman wrote: "house shook & whole street was out, car & house alarms gone off. Apparently was a sonic boom".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36188979
 
I'm used to hearing sonic booms, from military aircraft over the north sea decades ago, and Concord a few times.

Last night was a whole different order of magnitude. Closest I can compare it to was when, about 18 years ago, a gas cylinder exploded at a factory fire 600m from the house I lived in - that had the same effect, the whole building moving, a jolt to the furniture.
 
Barely an hour ago, my husband dragged me out of the house into the cold, to hear a strange boom toward London and the East. It was not train shunting, the station is toward the west and we are very familiar with the sound of trains.
It was like a bang into a gigantic, empty metallic tank. It was not the first time, here is what the Oxford Mail says about it:
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yo...ry_boom_heard_over_county___big_bang_theory_/

Planes breaking the sound barrier is forbidden over land, only over sea or ocean. Unless the military is doing something secret, again!
 
Probably scrambling a fighter jet to intercept a Russian plane.
 
I guess this fits in here:
Mystery loud bang in Bodmin shakes homes and leaves people baffled
By CGMikeS | Posted: March 27, 2017

Residents in Bodmin were baffled after hearing a loud bang which left houses shaking and led to armed officers being called out.
People living mainly in the Fair Park end of the town say they were left frightened by the mysterious bang that was heard at around 5pm on Sunday afternoon.

The source of the noise caused a debate on social media, with a firework, sonic boom and rook scarer among the theories.
Writing on the Bodmin Voice community page on Facebook, some residents said the bang left their houses shaking, while others said the noise was so loud that they thought a car crash had occurred outside their properties.
The bang could be heard by residents living in places including Burden Close, Broomfield Drive, Foster Drive, Trelawney Road, Flamank Park, Monument Way, Whitestone Crescent, Old Market Place, Kinsman and Treningle View.

Adam Freeman believes the cause of the bang was a firework after seeing one go off near his house. "It was right outside my place, not sure why anyone would want to let them off in the day though," he said.
"I was in the garden and saw what either looked like a firework or a tiny rocket exploded above me in a cloud of smoke. It was so loud and scared the dogs."

Others appeared to disagree, claiming such a loud bang couldn't have been caused by a firework.
Georgia Stanton said: "I've had a firework go off over my old house before and it was nowhere near as loud as this! It vibrated through our room, my fiancé and I both sprung out of our seats and looked the window but couldn't see anything."

Police were informed about the noise.
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "A call reporting a loud bang, possibly gun fire in Bodmin, was made at around 5pm yesterday.
"An armed response vehicle attended the area and localised searches took place, but nothing was found. Units stood down at around 6pm."

http://www.cornwalllive.com/residen...ople-s-homes/story-30230203-detail/story.html
 
I guess this fits in here:
Mystery loud bang in Bodmin shakes homes and leaves people baffled
By CGMikeS | Posted: March 27, 2017

Residents in Bodmin were baffled after hearing a loud bang which left houses shaking and led to armed officers being called out.
People living mainly in the Fair Park end of the town say they were left frightened by the mysterious bang that was heard at around 5pm on Sunday afternoon.

The source of the noise caused a debate on social media, with a firework, sonic boom and rook scarer among the theories.
Writing on the Bodmin Voice community page on Facebook, some residents said the bang left their houses shaking, while others said the noise was so loud that they thought a car crash had occurred outside their properties.
The bang could be heard by residents living in places including Burden Close, Broomfield Drive, Foster Drive, Trelawney Road, Flamank Park, Monument Way, Whitestone Crescent, Old Market Place, Kinsman and Treningle View.

Adam Freeman believes the cause of the bang was a firework after seeing one go off near his house. "It was right outside my place, not sure why anyone would want to let them off in the day though," he said.
"I was in the garden and saw what either looked like a firework or a tiny rocket exploded above me in a cloud of smoke. It was so loud and scared the dogs."

Others appeared to disagree, claiming such a loud bang couldn't have been caused by a firework.
Georgia Stanton said: "I've had a firework go off over my old house before and it was nowhere near as loud as this! It vibrated through our room, my fiancé and I both sprung out of our seats and looked the window but couldn't see anything."

Police were informed about the noise.
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "A call reporting a loud bang, possibly gun fire in Bodmin, was made at around 5pm yesterday.
"An armed response vehicle attended the area and localised searches took place, but nothing was found. Units stood down at around 6pm."

http://www.cornwalllive.com/residen...ople-s-homes/story-30230203-detail/story.html
It was the Mrs Rynn .. she let one go sorry ..
 
I guess this fits in here:
Mystery loud bang in Bodmin shakes homes and leaves people baffled
By CGMikeS | Posted: March 27, 2017

Residents in Bodmin were baffled after hearing a loud bang which left houses shaking and led to armed officers being called out.
People living mainly in the Fair Park end of the town say they were left frightened by the mysterious bang that was heard at around 5pm on Sunday afternoon.

The source of the noise caused a debate on social media, with a firework, sonic boom and rook scarer among the theories.
Writing on the Bodmin Voice community page on Facebook, some residents said the bang left their houses shaking, while others said the noise was so loud that they thought a car crash had occurred outside their properties.
The bang could be heard by residents living in places including Burden Close, Broomfield Drive, Foster Drive, Trelawney Road, Flamank Park, Monument Way, Whitestone Crescent, Old Market Place, Kinsman and Treningle View.

Adam Freeman believes the cause of the bang was a firework after seeing one go off near his house. "It was right outside my place, not sure why anyone would want to let them off in the day though," he said.
"I was in the garden and saw what either looked like a firework or a tiny rocket exploded above me in a cloud of smoke. It was so loud and scared the dogs."

Others appeared to disagree, claiming such a loud bang couldn't have been caused by a firework.
Georgia Stanton said: "I've had a firework go off over my old house before and it was nowhere near as loud as this! It vibrated through our room, my fiancé and I both sprung out of our seats and looked the window but couldn't see anything."

Police were informed about the noise.
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "A call reporting a loud bang, possibly gun fire in Bodmin, was made at around 5pm yesterday.
"An armed response vehicle attended the area and localised searches took place, but nothing was found. Units stood down at around 6pm."

http://www.cornwalllive.com/residen...ople-s-homes/story-30230203-detail/story.html
Sonic boom.
 
Or it could be an underground cave collapsing.
 
Or it could be an underground cave collapsing.
It could be. Or it could be a sonic boom. But until someone comes up with evidence for these (and other) alternative theories, we're just whistling in the dark.

The calls to the police were so interesting that they responded with "An armed response vehicle". (Not so surprising in the light of the recent killings in London, perhaps, but not appropriate in the case of sonic booms or collapsing caves...)
 
I did hear the other day that it's militarily illegal to break the sound barrier over land. Not sure how true that is...
 
I guess this fits in here:
Mystery loud bang in Bodmin shakes homes and leaves people baffled
By CGMikeS | Posted: March 27, 2017

Residents in Bodmin were baffled after hearing a loud bang which left houses shaking and led to armed officers being called out.
People living mainly in the Fair Park end of the town say they were left frightened by the mysterious bang that was heard at around 5pm on Sunday afternoon...

Around here we had a spate of dicks letting of fireworks in big bins - at all times of night.

The area I live in is surrounded by quarries, and is also home to the Health and Safety Laboratories - who are constantly blowing stuff up - so people around here are more or less immune to the sound of explosions: but the noise from these relatively minor detonations was pretty impressive.

Obviously, them being at night exaggerated the effect - but you might be surprised how powerful the noise was; also with a bassy depth to it that you wouldn't usually associate with the 'crack' of fireworks. Proper booms, in fact.
 
I'm not sure that's true - but I think you do need special authorisation to do so.

Yes- can't find anything specific but it seems to be against aviation rules and guidelines, rather than law, to cause a sonic boom over land unless there are "operational reasons" for doing so.
 
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