Ball lightning is a rare and poorly understood atmospheric phenomenon that's been reported to hover or float above the ground for extended periods, sometimes lasting 10-30 seconds or even longer in some accounts. So yes, based on eyewitness reports, ball lightning can potentially hover for around 20 seconds.

However, there are important caveats:

What we know from reports:

• Witnesses describe glowing, spherical objects that can remain stationary or move slowly through the air
• Duration varies widely in reports, from a few seconds to over a minute
• Some accounts describe the phenomenon hovering at various heights above ground level

Scientific uncertainty: Ball lightning remains one of the most enigmatic atmospheric phenomena. Despite thousands of reported sightings over centuries, it's extremely difficult to study because it's unpredictable, rare, and brief. Scientists have proposed various theories about what causes it - from plasma formations to microwave cavity resonances to silicon nanoparticles - but none have been definitively proven.

The challenge: Most ball lightning reports are anecdotal, and the phenomenon is so rare that controlled scientific observation is nearly impossible. This makes it difficult to verify specific details like exact duration or behavior patterns.

So while 20-second hovering falls well within the range of reported ball lightning behavior, the scientific community is still working to understand what ball lightning actually is and how it behaves.