A professional astronomer takes a look at the evidence for Marfa Lights and other related unusual phenomena.
compare Return to Spook Lights A matter of definition. One of the main problems that I encounter is a matter of definition. Typical, uncritical, accounts lump any light seen in a particular area as a 'spook light' and so it becomes a very slippery matter to separate many possible optical phenomena. A case in point is the Marfa Lights. Novices to the area oggle the distant headlights from cars and walk away thinking they have seen the Marfa Lights. The so-called 'old timers' say, yes they know about these lights but the REAL Marfa Lights are seen elsewhere and look different. Also, no one ever gives a specific date and time at which they report anything so its impossible to pin down newspaper accounts of astronomical sightings of planets close to the horizon, or what not. The Silver Cliff Cemetary lights seem to be reflections of stars and city lights off of tombstones, but have been described in nearly the same way as other ghost lights. Anomalous Brightness. The second, and biggest, problem I have is that car lights are often explored as an explanation but no one has ever bothered to describe how bright the lights apprear from the viewing areas. My impression is that you cannot see car lights as bright as a first magnitude star ( a lower limit to how bright these Lights' have appeared) from distances of a mile or more. In the case of the Marfa Lights, in particular, the car lights easily seen are at 10 and perhaps even 50 miles distance, and this is IMPOSSIBLE to see under normal atmospheric conditions...and this is for the kinds of lights that are definitely identified with cars via telescopes! I think the mystery is really, what atmospheric conditions are needed to amplify car lights over 5-10 miles so that they look far brighter than they should. The atmosphere would have to work like a long focal length converging lens ( double convex ), not as a system with an ordinary vertical temperature gradient. In the case of the Hebron Light, it is said that the lights dissappeared after a particular stretch of roadway had been upgraded to a regular tarmak surface from a dirt road. Clearly, these are areas in which the conditions are 'sometimes' favorable for extreme episodes of atmospheric light amplification. I want to explore, theoretically, what the atmospheric conditions have to be to produce various levels of optical gain, which by some accounts could be as extreme as factors of 10 or 100! For more about this under-represented effect, see by archive at Atmospheric Light Amplification. Here is a comment that Edson Hendricks made to me in an email about the Marfa Lights: I can tell you right now that the car headlights along Route 67 south of Marfa, 25 miles away from the MLVS, regularly appear far brighter than the brightest Venus I've ever seen, and I've seen some real bright Venuses! Headlights are often not so bright, and can vary the whole way up from barely visible. This is also true for the genuine Marfa Lights, except that the brightest MLs I've seen are even brighter than the brightest auto headlights. They can be unbelievably powerful at times, showing remarkable forms, and sometimes casting shadows that are very sharp and high contrast, many times brighter than the brightest moonlight, for example. I've only occasionally seen Venus cast shadows, and when I have, it was in very dark, special conditions. I've never seen automobile headlights at Marfa cast shadows, except close ones, of course. I hope this helps. Please let me know any further requests for photo activity at Marfa, I'll be there in about three months. Best regards, Ed.H 5/3/02 20:39 PDT ++++++++++ Comparisions. Here is a short summary of the properties that seem to be shared by sub-groups of the 'Lights' collected so far. There are a number of similarities among the different sightings that are rather striking: 1....They are often associated with an unimproved road bed lacking asphalt, or a railroad track that parallels the viewing area. Hornet, Gurdon, Paulding, St. Louis, Bragg/Harden, Maco, Paulding, Cohoke, Surrency, Bingham, Cogdell, Scugog, Senath, Grosse Tete 2....They are seen at the apex of a 'V' of trees that line either side of the road: Hornet, Gurdon, Paulding, St. Louis, Bragg/Harden, Paulding, Maco, Scugog 3....They are seen in open areas: Marfa, Brown Mountain, Maple Lake, Dover, McDermott, Silver Cliff, Oviedo, Lake Wanaque 4...They are roundish and change shape and color usually red or yellow but sometimes white. All. 5...They are historically associated with 'often unsubstantiated' railroad accidents and headless train workers or a violent death on or near the roadway. Gurdon, Paulding, Bragg/Harden, Maco, Paulding, Cohoke, Cogdell, Scugog, Senath, Maple Lake, Grosse Tete 6...Some don't seem to have a confirmable history in the print media prior to about 1925 or so: Bragg/Harden, Gurdon, Maple Lake, St. Louis, Hebron, Cogdell, Scugog, McDermott, Illinois Central, Maple Lake(man-made?) 7...Some have a history, usually from oral anecdotes, into the early 1900s, late 1800's and even earlier: Marfa, Hornet, Brown Mountain, Maco, Cohoke, Hornet, Surrency, Silver Cliff 8...Only a few have been looked at critically: Marfa, Brown Mountain, Paulding, Cohoke, Hornet, Scugog. Silver Cliff 9...There are highways or railroads crossing the field of view towards the lights, or aligned with the viewers location: Marfa, Hornet, Gurdon, St. Louis, Bragg/Harden, Hebron, Cohoke,Gonzales, Grosse Tete 10. Some have definitely gone away after road repaving or modification: Maco (ca 1977), Hebron (ca 1965) 11. They are a major tourist attraction well advertised: Marfa, Brown Mountain. Silver Cliff, Hornet 12. They are rare and not always seen or reported: McDermott, Cal's, Elsey's, Lake Wanaque 13. Have many characterists of purported 'swamp gas' Oviedo 14. The nearby town associated with the light has a population less than about 5000. (check this with 1990 census at http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/gazetteer) 0-500: Illinois Central (Beauregard, MS 206), Grosse Tete LA (541), Silver Cliff CO (322), Hebron MD (665), Surrency GA (253), McDermitt Nevada (373), 1000 - 5000: Paulding (Watersmeet MI 1048), Dog Meadow (Eagle River WI 1374),Senath MO (1622), Bragg (Kountze, TX 2056), Marfa TX (3155), Old Brewery (Le Sueur MN 3714), Cohoke (West Point VA 4550), Elsey's (Crisfield MD 2880), Maple Lake (Willow Springs IL 4509), Gurdon AK (2707), 6000- 11,000: Bingham (Dillon SC 6829), Gonzales LA (7003), Wanaque NJ (9711), Oviedo (Oviedo FL 11114) 15,000 - 60,000: Brown Mountain (Morganton NC 15085), Oxford (Oxford, OH 18937), Maco (Wilmington NC 55530), Hornet (Joplin MO, 40961) ???? Haldeman (Haldeman, KY), Cal's (Andrews MD), Dover (Dover Ozarks), Cogdell GA, Scugog Ontario, Here is a comparison of what I have found for some of the famous lights. Issue Marfa Hornet Brown Gurdon Maco Paulding Web Pages keyword 'Google search' 1230 hits, but some may be for singing band. 96. 191 31 107 40 Accessibility High....Convenient On major Highway 90 Medium....Difficult On country back road High: Convenient Major highway 181 Low: Intimidating Extensive hiking Medium: Back Road Medium: Highway 45 to Back road Typical number of simultaneous viewers Several dozen cars at Viewing Area. Perhaps a few cars at pull-out on 181. Several cars None Solitary viewer None Solitary viewer Several cars Population of nearest town. Marfa, Texas (1883) ca 300 (2001) ca 2500 Joplin, Missouri ( 1930) 100,800 (1990 ) 134,910 Morganton, NC (1990) 15,085 ( 2001) 16,129 Gurdon, Arkansas (1990) 2199 (1999) 2351 Wilminton,NC (1930) 58,800 (1990) 171,000 Watersmeet, MI Location geography High Planes; dry; elevation 4800 feet; Arid. Very flat plane, sloped downwards from Viewing Area to lower elevations near 4600 feet near distant Chinati mountains . Scattered gravel pits, ranches, windmills and oil wells, old airport, radio telescope and ranch buildings in direction of viewing area.(Facts) Forested; lush; elevation 900 feet. Roadway E50 sloped downwards to the west Route 66, but slightly hilly terrain. A few mines, disturbed earth, river/creek cuts across line of sight. No homes or other buildings along line of sight. (Facts) Forested; lush; mountaneous. You are looking across a valley to the mountains on the other side about 2-3 miles East of lookout point on Route 181. Forested. Similar LOS as for Hornet light. Looking down a narrow corridor along railroad track. The view is westward along a grade that slopes to higher elevation...100 foot rise over 6.4 kilometers. Forested .Similar LOS to Gurdon and Hornet. Narrow railway bed. Forested: Single unimproved road parallel to power lines. Lights appear between notch in trees over gravel roadbed Sightings Various locations within several hundred square miles. Most of the sightings are now made at the 'Viewing Area' on Highway 90 west of Marfa. Many dirt roads crisscross the viewing direction to the Chinati mountains. (Fact) Only at a few locations near Senica and Joplin, on a gravely backroad E50/Devils Promenade. Activity principaly confined to a single line-of-sight (road way) where most of the viewing is done. (Fact) There seem to be several viewing areas. The most popular one is at the Highway 181 turnoff across from Brown Mountain. There is a Park Service road marker there. Distance to Brown Mountain from 181 is 3.5 miles. Only one viewing region along seldome used railroad track. Similar to Joplin Lights. Not seen since ca 1977 when roadbed work completed. Several viewing areas along the dirt road. Highways nearby or along line of sight. Highway 67 generates many sightings that are frequently confused with the Lights by casual visitors who stay only a short while and are not attentive. Located 15 miles from VA towards Mt. Chinati. Even the 'old timers' say that these are not the real Lights. (Fact) Route 66 located along line of sight of E50 and produces many reports of false sightings, but true believers claim these are NOT the real lights. (Fact) Highway 30 is to the west end of the railroad tracks along viewing LOS. Route 53 is on east end of tracks. The lights from cars on both roads can be seen at different locations along railroad tracks. Highway 45 is behind the observers. No obvious roadways in use along LOS Are the 'Real Lights' common? No. Seasoned observers say that car lights can easily be recognized and that the True Lights are infrequent and seen elsewhere on the Mitchell Flats and Twin Peaks. Inexperienced observers may lump all lights together and say they are very common. (Fact) Older, seasoned, observers in area say the true lights are not really seen that often. One resident of 30+ years has seen them only 2-3 times. (Fact) No. They are claimed to be very rare. They seem to be not very common based on reports by Garr Lystad's repeated visits. He saw what he thought were unidentifiable lights once in two trips. Common during early history, but rare/absent since ca 1977 Most common reason for saying they are headlights Some of the lights follow the northward flow of traffic on Highway 67. With binoculars and telescopes, observers have stated they can clearly see these as headlight beams. However, this explanation would not cover the sightings not in the directions of Highway 67. (Fact) They appear on E50 looking west and appear above the roadway at exactly the shifted (southward) spot that lights from the distant Highway 66 would appear. With binoculars, no one seems to want to report that they look like headlights. (Fact) Most common reasons for saying they are not headlights They have been seen since 1883 by white people and indian legends say they are older still. No automobiles prior to about 1920's. They do not move like car headlights in smooth patterns but jiggle and dance erratically. (Anecdotes) They have been seen by settlers since at least 1860's and by indians since before then. No automobiles prior to about 1900. They do not move like cars. (Anecdotes) They have been seen since 1771. There are written accounts ca 1927 in National Geographic, which predates the highway system. Garr Lystad says that the light he saw looking west was probably not Highway 30 because during daytime he revisited the same spot with a telescope and could not see the highway. Close encounters? Yes. People approach them but never arrive. People approach them within a few hundred feet or less and see balls of light or fire. (Anecdotes) Yes. People approach them but never arrive where they are. They always recede faster than you can approach. Some bounce down the road and land on cars or pass through open car windows. (Anecdotes) Yes, but the lights always seem to evade, although some observers claim to have gotten within a few dozen yards of them. Yes but they always evade close inspection. In one instance someone came within 10 feet of the light. Yes, but they evade close approach by less than a few dozen yards. Ideas that have been looked at: Swamp Gas Earthquake lights Ghosts and Spirits (Anecdotes) Swamp Gas Earthquake Lights Ghosts and Spirits (Anecdotes) Swamp Gas St. Elmos Fire Earthquake Lights Ghosts and Spirits Static electricity Swamp gas Car lights Ghosts Swamp Gas. Ghosts Swamp Gas Attitude towards investigations: "We don't want to know what they are" Scientists have tried every explanation but none make sense. Generally rueful dismissal of any attempt at logically understanding them. (Facts) "We don't want to know what they are" Scientists have tried every explanation but none make sense. Generally rueful dismissal of any attempt at logically understanding them. (Facts) "We don't want to know what they are" Scientists have studied them since 1913 and none of their answers make any sense. Generally disrespectful. Pretty sketchy discussions because they tend to copy standard boilerplate. Local townsfolk really seem to like the McClain beheading legend ca 1932. 'Scientific Studies' Japanese Scientists ca 1980s (Anecdote) Sul Ross Physics Students ca 1985 (Fact) Robert Backer ca 1989 (Fact) Ca 1945. WWII Army Engineers from Camp Chowder. Failed to conclude. (Anecdote) John W. Northrip (deceased ca 1999), a professor of physics and astronomy at Southwest Missouri State University Over three years in the early 1970s with physics students. (Anecdote) ca 1913 by U.S. Weather Service 1919 by U.S. Geological Service. None reported. Scientific Conclusions: Auto headlights and atmospheric refraction. Geochemical (gases, piezoelectricity) Auto headlights and atmospheric refraction. Locomotive headlights. Atmospheric refraction of distant town lights on other side of ridge. St Almos Fire and Will-o-the-wisps. Not a single 'scientific' theory is ever presented. " because of its remote location cannot be a reflection from passing headlights or anything else that is easily explainable." Garr Lystad says this; " Some think that the light is caused by electricity generated by geological pressure along the New Madrid fault on underground quartz crystals that are common in the area. Few if any think it's swamp gas. Though the area is somewhat swampy, the light has been observed on windy nights." Number of lights reported Many separate lights in different geographic areas and lines of sights. Some are stationary for a time then move. Others move and split into pairs etc. (Anecdotes) One main light that sometimes splits into multiple parts. Always seen in same direction...to the west. (Anecdotes) Many single lights. There have been no reported binocular or telescopic studies. A single light that travels along rail. Some confusion over which direction to look; east or west. Garr Lystad saw one looking west towards Highway 30. " It's a very crisp, clear light that you can see moving around." A single light at a time. A single white light splits into two. Red blinking lights also seen at times. Timescales for change Seconds to minutes. No lights remain distinct for more than 20 minutes. (Anecdotes) Seconds to minutes. (Anecdotes) Seconds to minutes. Media Interest 'Unsolved Mysteries' October 1989. (Fact) 'Real People'; ca 1981 (Anecdote) Popular Mechanics ca 1965 (Fact) William Corliss book. 1983(Fact) National Geographic ca 1927 William Corliss 1983. It has been seen on local television stations and has been photographed by students at nearby Henderson State University. The TV show "Unsolved Mysteries" did a story on it. Date unknown. Has been reported on local TV stations Earliest written accounts ca 1985. (Fact) 1968 Dell paperback book, Mysterious Fires and Lights, (Fact) 1927 National Geographic magazine. Ca 1932 when legend has it that a railroad worker was murdered. Lights first noticed soon afterwards. No tradition of 'ancient' observations in the 1800's. ca 1867 Tourist Resources Viewing Area built ca 1988 (fact) Marfa Lights Festival ca 1986 (Fact) Major Grant $840,000 by Texas DOT to create Visitor Area (Fact) Spooklight Museum on Stateline Road near E50 ca 1970's? No longer open. Probably burned down. (Anecdote) None except that park service Visitor center hands out maps. None. Very primitive, but state travelogues mention this as part of their 'Haunted Arkansas' story. None. None, except US Forest Service plaque that gives some information. Named oldest observer via oral history. Robert Ellison ca 1883 is widely cited over and over again as the oldest white man to take note of the Marfa Lights. His name figures prominently in the history of this region. This story, however, was not written down by him in his memoirs ca 1937 at age 70, but passed on by family oral history and retold to historian Thompson ca 1980's. .(Fact) Ralph Bilke says his grandfather, Lloyd "Dutch" Bilke, told him of encountering the Spooklight around 1910. Oral tradition says the light was seen as early as the mid-1880s. (Anecdote) There are no 'legendary' first observers as heavily acclaimed as Robert Ellison is for the Marfa Lights. Margaret Jordan of the Davenport Weekly Record of Lenoir, North Carolina, wrote in April of 1922 that "the mysterious light on Brown Mountain . . . has again been seen by the Burke County people." She went on to recount one of the first attempts to explain the lights, noting that on June 8, 1908, There is no tradition of accounts earlier than ca 1930. Grover Cleveland during a ca TBD train stop at the Maco Station. General level of seriousness. Web sites seem less inclined to be UFO and Ghost-related topic areas. Comments about what the Lights are seem balanced and genuinely puzzled, but not as inclined to offer 'ghosts' etc as a serious 'scientific' explanation. The web sites seem more factually sophisticated. (Fact) Web sites are more inclined to be UFO or ghost-related. No serious articles by sceptics encountered on the web. Most are openly hostile or dismissive towards 'scientific' explanations. More folklore and legend-oriented explanations. (Fact) Web sites show NO pictures of the lights. The most common story is the retelling of the 1850 ghost story as a 'serious explanation' Most of the web sites discuss explanations but rarely describe the phenomenon. People mostly offer a popular ghost story as an explanation. Not taken very seriously, and no known professional studies. Natural explanations seldom mentioned. Ghost legend is almost universally offered as 'plausible' Most popular Sceptic frequently mentioned by name or web page: Scott LaRouche! 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