Mekong Fireballs - The Naga fireballs
Did you know that in Laos, mystical events take place on the Mekong River? At night, red balls of light appear from the murky water of the Mekong River, which quickly rise into the air and disappear without noise (some who manage to be close at these moments report a quiet whistle). These mysterious phenomena are small in size, but in some cases reach the size of a basketball.
The mysterious lights of the Mekong – another mystery of the planet?
Mysterious balls from the Mekong were seen by thousands of people, photographed and recorded on videotape, and, eventually, investigated by scientists who are actively looking for an explanation for this interesting phenomenon. What do the mysterious balls look like?
Mekong Fireballs
Fireballs are present in all areas of the Mekong reservoir. Most of them are found in the Mekong River, but there are cases when their appearance occurred in small rivers and ponds. These places may seem exotic at first glance, but they are also densely populated, the houses are full of people, roads are built, schools are built, and they have all the other attributes of ordinary civilized life. The phenomenon of Naga balls has not been studied in such detail in the past, nor has it been documented as thoroughly as it is now.
Among the locals, there are rumors that the first written evidence of the mysterious phenomenon is stored in the Wat Luang temple and counts its age for centuries. The balls are also mentioned in written accounts of British soldiers in the 1960s. Numerous local residents claim to have seen the lights throughout their lives and have also seen the phenomena seen by their parents, grandparents, and all past generations.
Fireballs do not have a specific schedule and occur at different times of the year, but they most often appear in late October and early November, when the long period of rain ends and the Mekong is sent by a stormy and fast current, filling with muddy water. The phenomenon comes straight out of the water, almost always from different points in the river, but sometimes several balls fly out of the same place at once.
Mekong Fireballs
Phaya Naga – King of Snakes
More recently, in the 1980s, this phenomenon attracted the attention of many scientists from different parts of the globe. There are also some ancient myths associated with the appearance of mysterious balls, which the locals have been transmitting orally for a very long time. One of these myths tells the story that there was a race of Nagas (a kind of serpent or dragon) that crawled over the mountains in the places where the Mekong flows today. These special and developed Nagas continue to travel there even now, using their usual route.
Mysterious balls are most common at the end of October-exactly at the time when the locals celebrate the religious holiday of Phaya Naga. At the end of each October, tens of thousands of people gather in Phon Phisai and other Lao cities, which are located on the banks of the Mekong River. They occupy the best places along the river.
Previously, locals just walked on the banks of the Mekong and accidentally noticed how the balls rose into the air. Today, the phenomenon is used for their own purposes by travel companies: people from all over the world come to see the strange phenomenon.
Fireball Festival in Thailand
Research of the phenomenon by scientists
Unlike most unknown phenomena, Naga fireballs were seen by thousands of people, and they were recorded on modern video and photographic equipment.
Although most locals believe in a mythical explanation for the mysterious balls, the Thai government decided that scientists should be involved in the process of studying the phenomenon. Thanks to these efforts, a group of the best scientists in Thailand was created, which was involved in the process of the scientific study of the myth. In 2003, the heart chambers and five teams of scientists were located in several locations along the river. One of them was located at the most famous place of observation — in the Naga Temple in the city of Phon Phisai. There were rumors that a submarine was also involved in the investigation.
Some scientists have suggested that the phenomenon may be caused by the gas that comes out of the lake. According to them, when the gas reaches the surface of the water, it begins to burn and rises into the air like a lantern. It is noteworthy that local residents say that these balls were much smaller in size before, their glow color was mostly white, and they rose only a few meters above the water.
Is hoax impossible?
Laotians do not believe that anyone could fake this phenomenon. Sometimes the balls rise out of the water in very secluded places, and the organizer of the falsification has a very small chance that someone will notice his "creation". Once fireballs were seen in one night on a long stretch of the river (about 45 kilometers). The river had been viewed by hundreds of people for a long time, and in such conditions, it was very difficult to fake such a phenomenon without being caught red-handed.
Naga balls were seen during the war between Thailand and Laos. The border was heavily guarded at the time, and hardly anyone would want to risk their lives to surprise people in an enemy country. Scientists have not provided a concrete solution to the dispute about the source of the mysterious balls. Although it should be recognized that if the phenomenon is still a hoax, then it is very well organized and planned since thousands of people believe in it.
About author:
Serg Toporkov Ufologist, Ph.D., blogger, I go on my own expeditions for UFOs. I use scientific methods to investigate the UAP phenomenon. Write to me |
Related tags:
Mekong River Fireballs Naga fireballs Phaya Naga Naga Mysterious balls flying red balls sphere spheres spherical UFO ufo sphere ufo spheres The spheresRandom UFO or conspiracy article
Disappearance of Frederick Valentich
The disappearance of a 19-year-old Australian pilot and his plane in 1978 is one of the most mysterious phenomena in the history of air travel. Some believe that the plane was stolen by a UFO, some put forward more prosaic options. Today we will restore the chronology of those distant events and try to give answers