Thouands of people witnessed the eerie spectacle in Chelyabinsk and plus towns and villages over hundreds of kilometres in the region. A strange multi-colored sky phenomenon which was visible to some people for several hours started around 2am on June 16, 2013.
Regional TV reported: 'At first it appeared like white-blue shining light, later dirty red and yellow colous came out. The lights were completely gone by the dawn.
Some believed they saw the ghostly face of a dog in the in the blue, white, red and yellow hue that lit up the dark sky.
The lights were clearly visible from many parts of the Urals city with the best view in the district around Chelyabinsk tractor factory.
Some witnesses claimed the lights resembled the reflection on clouds of powerful searchlights but there are no known lights of this kind in the region.
Scientists gave two versions. One, they claimed it could be a rare case of the Northern Lights being witnessed much further south than normal.
Yet at around 55 degrees north, this is outside the normal regions where the Northern Lights are seen by some 2,000 km. It is the same latitude as Jutland in Denmark, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England, and Prince of Wales Island in the extreme south of Alaska.
The second theory is a phenomenon known as 'silver clouds'.
These are very high clouds, some 85km above the ground, which can be visible at night if the sun suddenly catches them.
Chelyabinsk Hydro-Meteorological Centre said: 'So far it is hard to say what exactly it was. During last night our stations did not register any abnormal magnetic storms which must accompany the North Lights.
The last time the region experienced a light show was on 15 February when a meteorite stuck Chelyabinsk, causing shock and awe.
The footage here was seen from nearby Miass town, some 96km west of Chelyabinsk, which many reported was where the night show was at its strongest. siberiantimes
Regional TV reported: 'At first it appeared like white-blue shining light, later dirty red and yellow colous came out. The lights were completely gone by the dawn.
Some believed they saw the ghostly face of a dog in the in the blue, white, red and yellow hue that lit up the dark sky.
The lights were clearly visible from many parts of the Urals city with the best view in the district around Chelyabinsk tractor factory.
Some witnesses claimed the lights resembled the reflection on clouds of powerful searchlights but there are no known lights of this kind in the region.
Scientists gave two versions. One, they claimed it could be a rare case of the Northern Lights being witnessed much further south than normal.
Yet at around 55 degrees north, this is outside the normal regions where the Northern Lights are seen by some 2,000 km. It is the same latitude as Jutland in Denmark, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England, and Prince of Wales Island in the extreme south of Alaska.
The second theory is a phenomenon known as 'silver clouds'.
These are very high clouds, some 85km above the ground, which can be visible at night if the sun suddenly catches them.
Chelyabinsk Hydro-Meteorological Centre said: 'So far it is hard to say what exactly it was. During last night our stations did not register any abnormal magnetic storms which must accompany the North Lights.
The last time the region experienced a light show was on 15 February when a meteorite stuck Chelyabinsk, causing shock and awe.
The footage here was seen from nearby Miass town, some 96km west of Chelyabinsk, which many reported was where the night show was at its strongest. siberiantimes