The truth indeed is out there, and scientists have finally found it: mysterious lights that flash right before an earthquake, long been attributed to UFOs, have been determined to be ground lights, according to The Space Reporter. The ground lights are perfectly natural electrical energy that's in no way alien to this world.

The study conducted by a team of scientists found that "during an earthquake, the stress of rocks grinding against each other generates electric charges, which travel upwards along the nearly vertical geological faults that are common in rift zones. When the charges reach Earth's surface and interact with the atmosphere, they create a glow," reports the Scientific American.

The study is published in the Seismological Research Letters, January-February issue. Geologist Robert Thériault, lead author of the study, emphasizes that, "Earthquake lights are a real phenomenon-they're not UFOs; they can be scientifically explained," according to the Scientific American. Thériault's team studied 65 cases of earthquake events that span 400 years, with data from dozens of locations.

One case studied by the team, for example, detailed that half-hour before the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, an amateur video caught 'sparkling rainbow auroras high in the sky over the affected areas,' says Liberty Voice. The phenomenon had been a mystery at the time it happened, as it was highly unlikely for China, which is too close to the border, to get a glimpse of auroras.

Apart from debunking the UFO myth with this discovery, the study is useful in disaster preparedness. With ground lights as indicators, communities in earthquake prone locations may get the best cautionary advice by taking the cue and preparing an evacuation plan well ahead of time, notes Liberty Voice.

Ground lights however, appear in varied forms. They may appear as floating orbs that seem to come from alien spaceships, or they may look like glowing meteor streaks. The variety of these ground lights may make it difficult to 'read' it as an earthquake indicator, but scientists insist that the spectacle is so startling that people witnessing the flashes would certainly feel the sense of urgency to report sightings.