The Marfa lights mystery of Texas

[Ivan Seeking]

I am posting here since no specific claims are made. This seems to be a good example of...

http://www.news24houston.com/content/headlines/?ArID=16799&SecID=2

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Hmmm.

http://www.marfalights.com/history.html

All local faults are found West of Marfa which is located at 30.3 degrees N, 104.0 degrees West. The lights are seen at 103.9 degrees west at the base of the Chianti Mountains.

http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/eq/faults/fsrpage20.html#texas

Here is some more information.

http://www.astronomycafe.net/weird/lights/marfa17.htm

and

http://www.astronomycafe.net/weird/lights/gurdon15.htm

 

[Ivan Seeking]

"Fireballs a few metres in diameter often popped out of the ground in a repetitive manner at distances of up to only a few metres away from the observers. Others were seen several hundred metres up in the sky, stationary or moving. Some observers described dripping luminescent droplets, rapidly disappearing a few metres under the stationary fireballs. Only two fire-tongues on the ground were reported, one on snow and the other on a paved parking space without any apparent surface fissure. The colours most often identified were orange, yellow, white and green. Some luminosities lasted up to 12 min."

http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf074/sf074g14.htm
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In a recent issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, physicist Friedemann Freund theorizes that positive charges can be generated when huge stresses are generated along faults in the Earth's crust. The rocks in the crust normally act as insulators that conduct electrical charges only poorly. But under the severe stress generated before an earthquake, these rocks may behave briefly like "p-type semiconductors" found in computer chips, capable of releasing large numbers of positive charges referred to as "holes."

These charges speed upward toward the surface of the Earth at between 220 and 660 mph.

Freund, a professor at San Jose State University in California, thinks they ionize the atmosphere upon reaching the air, accounting for the bizarre effects -- radio interference and colored streamers, flashes and glows reported by thousands of observers. Among them:

Radio interference reported in the days before the worst quake recorded (magnitude 9.5), in Chile in 1961, as well as Alaska's magnitude 9.2 Good Friday quake in 1964.

http://www.100megsfree4.com/farshores/nqlights.htm
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Some interesting pictures:
http://www.earthwaves.org/eqlight.htm
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As mentioned, Earth lights are the main phenomenon being investigated on this website. They are usually seen in the form of "orbs of light", but have also been reported to be "luminous vapours", "spheres with fiery tails", or have no distinct size/shape. They may also appear as "plumes" or "flames", although these forms are rarer.

Also discussed:

Terrain/geologically related light phenomena
This may include the following types: Earth lights, spooklights, ghost lights, earthquake lights (EQLs).
Weather related light phenomena
This may include the following types: Ball lightning (BL), St. Elmo's fire, sprites.
Microclimatalogically related light phenomena
This may include the following types: Will-o'-the-wisps, Fox Fire.

http://www.mysterylights.com/types/
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[Ivan Seeking]

A spooky mystery of light

It was about six years go when the strangest thing happened to me. I was living on Chinati Mountain on a ranch out in Texas and getting ready to go to bed that evening, got into bed, turned out the light, and a bright light just showed up just through my window. It changed colors and lasted for a few minutes and then went away," said Marfa resident Felicia Wood.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=87555&SecID=2

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Here is new thread on this subject.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1286

 

[Zeke_D]

I grew up in Grandfalls TX, about 95 miles N, NE of Marfa. School trips and family outings often wound up bringing me down highway 67 or 90 at nightime and often the lights gave an excuse to stop and take a break. I have seen the lights on numerous occasions and I have made several scientific excursions to the area with various equipment, optical and RF to survey the area. My favorite veiwing device is still an 8" or larger telescope with a few folks doing binocular spotting to guide you to new targets.

Thermal inversions near the ground are some of the most intense I have experienced anywhere. On one April night, a HeNe laser aimed at a retroreflector 2 miles away showed significant distortion. Simpler just to look at the yard lights of the handful of ranch houses through a telescope. There is a very unsettled atmosphere at ground level, while not a constant, it should be taken into account.

Many sightings ARE atmospheric distortions of manmade light sources. This is important to accept as a fact. The many ranch roads that run all over that area have vehicle traffic. Headlights can be distorted to the extent that at two miles even WITH a telescope a truck at night appears to be a ball of light surrounded by a cloud of dust.

Now that I have discouraged most folks, there is a separate and unique light phenomenon in the area of the Chianati mountain range that I can not explain. Balls of light sitting in a chico bush, atop a small pile of rocks or on the foundation of a removed radio antenna spitting streamers and shifting color from yellow to purple and red, a few flashes of yellow streamers and the light blinks out. The lights in the washes and gulleys that you can only see shadows from really get my heart pumping. I want so much to see what they are doing. Normally you just wait and a few will pop out in plain sight. The color changes and lightning like tendrils are very neat to watch. One I really enjoyed watching moved straight up a cliff face and then rested on top of the mountain changing from bright yellow to a dim red then blinked a couple times and was gone.

One Marfa light story is special. I talked to several involved and recorded the story for posterity. This was the closest encounter I am aware of. A group of 11 returning from a church event in Presidio TX stopped to look for the lights off Hwy 67 N-NE of Marfa on a dirt ranch road. Shortly after parking and exiting the vehicle an intensly glowing blue light on the burm ~50yds down the road from the van was seen by all. This light was observed on the roadside for ~3 min. The group cautiously approached the unmoving light. One individual picked the pebble sized object up and held it in the palm of his hand. No heat, intense and even cobalt blue light, about the weight of balsa wood, ~1/4" long-slightly elliptical smooth to touch, just past dusk, 2 miles S-SE on Hovey Rd off of HWY67, month of April 1997. After ~2 min of watching the lighted pebble, a wave of black "oil" appeared on the surface, interfering with the light. The "oil" spun around the small object and it appeared to cover the blue central light as well as the object was shrinking quickly. The light blinked a few times an then went out completely and nothing was left in the individuals hand. No burns. No residue.

Strange but this is an actual account from the individuals that were there. I want more folks out there to pick up that glowing pebble and tell me about it. Pictures and video are prefered. I have hundreds of pounds of rocks from that area and not one will glow for me. I have collected plants that the lights were observed to be "stuck" in and no burns, nothing strange at all. Just plants.

A remote spectrographic camera system working from dusk to dawn streaming to the Internet would be ideal. I estimate a serious research platform could be built from off the shelf components and software for $10-11K. About $120 a month to maintain, operate and stream the data, less if I don't need to go solar powered. *Finding someone to allow it to be put on their property would be all I need to get me motivated.*

I have a few ideas, most involve low voltage high current plasmoids with multiple charged cores for stability. They could be generated by voltage anomalies and kicked off the perovskite layer following paths around the inactive volcanic vents. But of course my ideas mean nothing, only science can answer the question of the Marfa lights and as of now, there is not enough fundamental work done.

 

[zoobyshoe]

This phenomenon is fascinating and I agree that it should be seriously investigated by people employing hard science.

The same effects, occurring on a transient basis, probably account for a certain percentage of ufo sightings.

It is hard to understand why these effects, which remain localized and which repeat frequently, haven't been thoroughly studied and understood. There is quite an opportunity going to waste.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Originally posted by zoobyshoe
It is hard to understand why these effects, which remain localized and which repeat frequently, haven't been thoroughly studied and understood. There is quite an opportunity going to waste.

The fact that these are so difficult to study could mean that the source is something very interesting. I think the same is true for ball lighting. We give something a name - ball lighting, earthlights, whatever - but this does not mean that the explanation is uninteresting. When I hear comments made that some UFO sighting was only earthlights, or just ball lighting, I seriously question the assumptions of "only, and "just". For example, the only purported demonstration of artificial ball-lightning was barely reminiscent of the actual phenomenon. It seems that we can’t explain how stable “ball lighting” or “earthlights” could exist.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

For a related discussion [possibly]:

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10376&perpage=12&pagenumber=4

 

[nightorbs]

Marfa Mystery Lights

New information is available regarding Marfa's Mystery Lights. Please visit www.nightorbs.net[/URL] for pictures, spectra, and data.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Originally posted by nightorbs
New information is available regarding Marfa's Mystery Lights. Please visit www.nightorbs.net[/URL] for pictures, spectra, and data. [/B][/QUOTE]
I went there and could not find the new available info.

 

[nightorbs]

Hi Zoobyshoe

Did you not reach the site or did you reach the site and consider the information nothing new? The site is .net, not .com This site does have pictures, spectra and data not shown before.

Over

 

[zoobyshoe]

Yes, I clicked on the link you put in your first post. There is a fancy graphic saying "welcome to nightorbs". Below it there are three links, one to submit info about your own sightings and two others to submit comments.

I don't see any info on that page or any links to another page that might have info.

 

[nightorbs]

Night Orbs Key

Now I understand. Below the fancy "Welcome to Night Orbs" title is a blue bar with tabs to seven+ pages. Put your cursor over the blue bar and the tab you are selecting turns red. Press the left mouse key and you are taken to that page.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Thanks nightorbs! It is great to see that someone is working on this.

I may have some questions later...

 

[STAWJW]

Marfa Lights site

My new Marfa Lights site seeks to show the Marfa Lights are not a mysterious phenomenon at all. http://godshome.us/marfa

Please check it out. Thanks.