CNN —I once felt the immense force unleashed by an earthquake in 1999 when I was living in Taipei, Taiwan. It was a feeling I was reminded of again this week when writing about a mysterious seismic phenomenon witnessed during Morocco’s recent devastating earthquake. Force of natureReports of multicolor “earthquake lights,” such as the ones seen in videos captured before Morocco’s 6.8 magnitude quake on September 8, go back centuries to ancient Greece. Researchers are beginning to understand the different forms the lights take and where they might appear. One 2014 study found the mystery lights could result from certain rocks when put under stress, but there is still no consensus on exactly what causes these outbursts.

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Persons: CNN —, James Webb, Rhea Seddon, Anna Fisher, Judy Resnik, Shannon Lucid, Sally Ride, Kathy Sullivan, dryly, Arabella, Anita, Miss Baker, wasn’t, Jesse Rorabaugh, ”, Mattia Menchetti, Frank Rubio, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, NASA, United, of Evolutionary, CNN Space, Science Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Greece, Mexico City, Thailand, Africa, Guam, North America, United Nations, Europe, Italy, Spain