Discover Magazine on MSN

Mysterious, Ghostly Blue Lights Called Will-o-the-Wisp May Just be Methane Bubbles

Wisp and how this mysterious phenomenon, which has inspired faerie folklore, may actually be bursts of methane gas.
Smithsonian Magazine on MSN

What Actually Sparks Will-o’-the-Wisps? A New Study Traces the Science Behind the Mysterious, Wandering Lights

For centuries, stories about will-o’-the-wisps have captured the popular imagination. Countless tales have been told to ...
Science News

Here’s what might spark ghostly will-o’-the-wisps

Chemists have discovered tiny zaps of electricity moving between “swamp-gas” bubbles. Could they ignite methane gas to glow as dancing blue flames?

Marsh Will-o’-the-Wisps Sparked by Strange Chemistry

Whatever the name, for centuries people have reported seeing these eerie, faint blue flames hovering over marshes, bogs and ...

Chemists Crack the Ghostly Truth Behind Will-o’-the-Wisps

Scientists had long suspected methane had something to do with it. Turns out they were partly right.
ZME Science on MSN

Scientists Finally Solve the Mystery of the Will-o’-the-Wisp With Bubbles and Lightning

For centuries, people have told tales about strange, flickering blue lights dancing over bogs and graveyards. Known as ignis ...

This could be the reason people see ghosts and spirits in swamps

Water is famously the go-to for putting out fires, but now scientists think they’ve shown how it could potentially spark one too. They were researching what could cause the phenomen of ...