Colored Rain on the West Coastal Region of India: Was it Due to a Dust Storm?

Satyanarayana, M.; Veerabuthiran, S.; Rao, D. V. Sudhakar; Presennakumar, B.

doi:10.1080/02786820300981

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…But they also raised several unexplained questions regarding the origin of huge quantity of red particles amounting to several tons and the unexplainable mechanism by which the red particles can reach the rain clouds etc. From the observation of a dust layer in the atmosphere using multiwavelength LIDAR data of 24 th and 30 th July 2001 above Thiruvananthapuram (8.33 deg N, 77 deg E), Satyanarayana et al (2004) and Veerabuthiran & Satyanarayana (2003) claimed that the dust generated from desert areas of the west Asian countries was a possible cause of the observed coloured rain. However their study did not address the cause of red rain that continued to occur in Kerala for an extended period of time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Red Rain Phenomenon of Kerala and its Possible Extraterrestrial Origin

Louis

Kumar

2006

Astrophys Space Sci

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A red rain phenomenon occurred in Kerala, India starting from 25th July 2001, in which the rainwater appeared coloured in various localized places that are spread over a few hundred kilometers in Kerala. Maximum cases were reported during the first 10 days and isolated cases were found to occur for about 2 months. The striking red colouration of the rainwater was found to be due to the suspension of microscopic red particles having the appearance of biological cells. These particles have no similarity with usual desert dust. An estimated minimum quantity of 50,000 kg of red particles has fallen from the sky through red rain. An analysis of this strange phenomenon further shows that the conventional atmospheric transport processes like dust storms etc. cannot explain this phenomenon. The electron microscopic study of the red particles shows fine cell structure indicating their biological cell like nature. EDAX analysis shows that the major elements present in these cell like particles are carbon and oxygen. Strangely, a test for DNA using Ethidium Bromide dye fluorescence technique indicates absence of DNA in these cells. In the context of a suspected link between a meteor airburst event and the red rain, the possibility for the extraterrestrial origin of these particles from cometary fragments is discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%