What were the lights that were seen in the sky during the tremor in Colombia?

Around 1:04 am on Sunday, May 14, the central zone of Colombia was shaken by a strong earthquake of magnitude 5.0 that had its epicenter in Acacías, Meta, but was felt in several cities, including Bogotá.

initial information of Colombian Geological Service points out that the earthquake had a superficial depth, that is, less than 30 kilometers underground.

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Despite the hour Many users on social networks reported how the tremor was experienced from different areas of central Colombia. One of the videos that stands out is one taken in Goal in which you can see the force of the telluric movement that shakes the poles of public services, and some lights in the sky that flash intermittently.

Here in Acacias Meta Fuerte the #Shaking mothers day @sgcol pic.twitter.com/MmomjjZDl5

— Hernán Augusto Roldán B. (@chavoroldan_21) May 14, 2023

It is not the first time that a phenomenon like this occurs, in fact, lsome shade of blue They were seen in Mexico during the 2021 earthquake that had a magnitude of 7.1, as well as the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria that occurred in February of this year.

And although it becomes a shocking phenomenon, it is actually an occurrence that has been recorded since the year 1660. We tell you.

Experts often explain that earthquake lights or triboluminescence occurs by the release of electrical charges from rocks in the earth’s crustwhich produce this type of flashes due to the telluric movement that makes their crystals collide.

Usually, people who have observed this phenomenon believe that it is the explosion of power cables due to strong movements or that it is light generated by electrical transformers.

However, according to Esteban Hernández Quintero, an expert and former coordinator of Geophysical Services of the UNAM Institute of Geophysics, explained to the gazette of the aforementioned university that it is most likely the clash between grabo and basalt crystals.

Tectonic movements and earthquake lights pic.twitter.com/LnnYh7ujw4

—Daniel Marmolejo (@HomoExNovo) September 8, 2021

(In the previous video you can see the phenomenon in Mexico during the earthquake of September 7, 2021).

Blue lights in the sky in the Fukushima earthquake in Japan. (Photo: NHK)

The friction generated by the telluric movements causes the crystals of these minerals to collide with each other, generating an electrical discharge that is perceptible to the human eye. They are usually blue in color, but also they can have red, white, yellow or green tones.

Other countries where “earthquake lights” have been seen

There are nations that, due to their geographical location, face constant telluric movements. This is the case of Japan, Mexico and Türkiye, in the latter one of the worst tragedies of the year occurred due to strong earthquakes.

Although there are those who believe that the lights are generated by simple electrical failures due to tremors, many take the lights that can be seen in the sky as a sign of a coming strong earthquake.

After the strong earthquakes that hit Mexico in 2021, EL TIEMPO made a video explaining what caused this strange geological occurrence that lights up the sky during earthquakes.

Source: Elcomercio