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According to this Daily Mail article, there have been recordings of trumpet like noises from the atmosphere. However, nobody knows the cause of it.

However, as it is from the Daily Mail, I am taking it with a pinch of salt, as usually their articles are a little exaggerated. Hence the question

Is there any scientific evidence or official explanation for this?

Oddthinking
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George
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  • What do you doubt about the *Daily Mail* story? That trumpet sounds have been recorded, or that nobody knows the cause? – GEdgar May 18 '15 at 21:17
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    That there is no cause. I was wondering if there is any known explanation for it... – George May 18 '15 at 21:17
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    @George: Note that there's a big difference between "no cause" and "we don't know the cause". – jamesqf May 18 '15 at 23:16
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    Sorry, I meant that there is no known cause... Obviously there has to be a cause or it wouldn't happen! – George May 19 '15 at 13:12

1 Answers1

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A similar type of unexpected large sound, the Seneca Guns or Barisal Guns, has been recorded for centuries. While there is no firm explanation, they are believed to be the result of the atmosphere unexpectedly magnifying loud sounds, such as thunder, ship cannons, or, yes, heavy machinery. While it is not clear how this hypothesis could be tested, most other worldly explanations -- earthquakes, continental shelf movements -- have been ruled out. It is especially notable that these sounds most often happen in summer, and rarely if ever happen in winter.

Sources:

An important data point comes from Dr. Calvert's essay on the subject:

An apparently different phenomenon was first noticed in 1666, during an engagement of the English and Dutch fleets in the Channel on 1 June. The sounds of the guns were heard in London, but not on the South Downs, Deal or Dover, all points between the battle and London. This was recorded in the diaries of John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys as a remarkable occurrence, that the winds brought to them the noise of the guns, but not to the people in between.

So, while there is by no means a firm explanation for this, unexplained loud noises have existed for many centuries, and the atmosphere is known to be a large, anomalous, and complex thing that produces strange sights and noises.

Avery
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