The northeastern province of Nong Khai in Thailand is gearing up to yet again host for the special festivities and prepare extra home-stay accommodation for the crowds of visitors during the yearly Naga fireball phenomenon of next month.
The very mysterious Naga Serpent fireballs that shoot into Thailand's night sky out of the Mekong river in the area of Nong Khai occurs during the first full moon night of the month October every year, in coinciding with the local end of the Thai Buddhist Lent.
This year, the Naga festival will take place from 6 to 12 October 2003 along the banks of the Mekhong river and Nongtin park in Nong Khai, Northeastern Thailand.
The festivities will include a competition for illuminated floats in respect of the Thai Naga Serpent, a long boat race on the Mekong river and a marathon run.
A special ceremonial consecration for the Naga Serpent will be held, including a spectacular light and sound show with Thai merit making rites, as a tribute to the legendary King of Naga Serpent.
Many food stalls with delicious local and Thai specialties will be lined up along most streets of Nong Khai for the festival visitors.
More than 400,000 tourists are expected in Nong Khai for this years Naga events. Thailand's local Provincial authorities are currently in full preparation to solve the yearly problem of congested roads during the 7–day Naga Fireball event.
Besides hotels, resorts and guesthouses, the local temples, schools and many houses of local villagers in Nong Khai will be offering accommodation for the huge crowd of tourists that is expected again.
The Naga Fireball phenomenon in Thailand
While trying to explain with ancient Thai legends the mythical origins surrounding the Naga Fireballs out of the Mekhong river in Northeastern Thailand, scientific experiments have provided ample evidence for the authenticity of this natural phenomenon in the area of the Mekhong river in Nong Khai.
The appearance of the fireballs from the King of Naga Serpent is the simultaneous interplay of several natural forces, including a presence of condition that is favorable for the formation of Methane-Nitrogen gas with more than 19% of purity. Also the presence of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria co-existing in the Mekhong river habitat at depths of 4.55 to 13.40 meters, where organic deposits are formed on a bed of clay or sand with a surrounding temperature that is higher than 26 degrees Celsius and a PH value of the river water in-between 6.4 to 7.8 degrees.
As the sun starts warming the surface of the clay or sand banks around the Mekhong river, organic matter starts decomposing within the next 3 to 6 hours and starts emitting methane gasses. At the same time, pressure starts building up and the newly formed methane gas rises to the river's surface as huge bubbles exceeding 15cc in volume, pulling behind a 12cc nucleus that floats slower upwards. The surfacing methane gas reacts with the oxygen in the air and instantly ignites.
95% of the Naga Fireballs that are seen appear mostly in ruby-red with pinkish-red or crimson-burgundy hues inside. This methane gas explains why the King of Naga Fireballs in Thailand are mostly of uniform color, and do not emit flares, smoke or any sound, after suddenly appearing, they then slowly dissolve into the thin nightly sky without leaving any further traces.
The frequency and intensity of the Naga Serpent's fireballs vary also according to several other minor factors, such as the relative distance of the earth to the sun & moon, and the intensity of the ultraviolet rays B & C, plus to a certain extent, the local ozone layer depletion in the stratosphere above Nong Khai.
Studies have indicated that there is a much greater likelihood for the phenomenon of Thailand's Naga Fireballs to occur during the months of September and October, when the earth gravitates closest to the sun and moon, and the ozone layer depletion above Thailand allows ultraviolet rays to penetrate the stratosphere easily.
Based on those Thai studies, the 2 absolute indicators for the formation of King of Naga fireballs in Northeastern Thailand, are the presence of Methane-Nitrogen gas with a purity of over 19% plus a sufficient enough concentration of Ionized Atomic Oxygen to trigger a reaction that is called "heterogeneous combustion", resulting in the mystical glow of the fireballs of the Naga Serpent out of Mekhong river near Nong Khai in Northeastern Thailand.
