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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| New York awe-struck as sky over Queens turns blue | New York awe-struck as sky over Queens turns blue |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| An explosion at an electrical power station in New York City on Thursday evening lit up the sky with an eerie blue light - and triggered a flurry of speculation on social media. | An explosion at an electrical power station in New York City on Thursday evening lit up the sky with an eerie blue light - and triggered a flurry of speculation on social media. |
| Some wondered if aliens had landed. | Some wondered if aliens had landed. |
| Others thought something supernatural might be to blame for the ghostly glow. | Others thought something supernatural might be to blame for the ghostly glow. |
| Others wondered if the hand of God was at work over New York, heralding perhaps a new Pope, or the moment when Evangelicals say true believers will be swept up, or "raptured", to heaven. | Others wondered if the hand of God was at work over New York, heralding perhaps a new Pope, or the moment when Evangelicals say true believers will be swept up, or "raptured", to heaven. |
| The New York Police Department took to Twitter to reassure the public that the strange light was caused by something much more down to earth - a transformer explosion at a Con Edison power station in the Astoria neighbourhood of the borough of Queens. | The New York Police Department took to Twitter to reassure the public that the strange light was caused by something much more down to earth - a transformer explosion at a Con Edison power station in the Astoria neighbourhood of the borough of Queens. |
| And Con Edison shed more light on the cause of the excitement. | And Con Edison shed more light on the cause of the excitement. |
| Meanwhile, the power cut hit New York's LaGuardia Airport, which warned travellers to be prepared for delays. | Meanwhile, the power cut hit New York's LaGuardia Airport, which warned travellers to be prepared for delays. |
| The blue colour comes from the way electricity passes through air, correspondents say. | |
| Electrical energy will knock electrons off atoms in the gases that make up the air. | Electrical energy will knock electrons off atoms in the gases that make up the air. |
| When these electrons recombine with the excited atoms, returning them to their starting energy state, light is emitted. | When these electrons recombine with the excited atoms, returning them to their starting energy state, light is emitted. |
| The colour of the light emitted depends on the type of atoms involved. | The colour of the light emitted depends on the type of atoms involved. |
| A blue colour is associated with oxygen atoms; pink/purple colours are associated with nitrogen atoms. Oxygen and nitrogen are the gases that dominate the air we breathe. | A blue colour is associated with oxygen atoms; pink/purple colours are associated with nitrogen atoms. Oxygen and nitrogen are the gases that dominate the air we breathe. |