Seconds before the first earthquake struck in Turkey and Syria, some flashes of light could be seen in the sky above the affected areas, which people managed to record and post on social networks.

The blue light (earthquake light) also known as triboluminescence, which can be seen for the first time in Turkey, caused panic among the citizens before the earthquake itself, reports groundreport.in.

First there was a hissing sound and then a blue light appeared in the sky. The sound grew louder and louder with a strong tremor.

These lights, which resemble the northern lights, have been documented since the 17th century, according to a report by the American Seismological Society. In general, they can be observed in less than 0.5% of earthquakes and their duration is usually a fraction of a second.

Phenomena such as lightning, balls of light, electricity, and continuous flashes that are reported in association with earthquakes are called seismic flashes (SEBs).

Friedemann Freund, visiting professor of physics at San Jose State University and senior researcher at NASA Ames Research Center, discovered in 2001 that triboluminescence is due to the fact that rocks can become semiconductors during telluric motion.

Earthquake lights are not common. They usually occur before or during major earthquakes, but can occur weeks in advance. In the future, by studying seismic lights, it will be possible to predict the occurrence of large earthquakes and reduce their impact.