Marfa lights

Feb 20 01:29 UTC 1996

Has anyone read about (or seen) the mysterious lights which can be seen every
night of the year in the desert near Marfa, Texas?  

response 2 of 40:

Feb 24 02:51 UTC 1996

Have you seen these lights mcpoz?  Try headlights..or flashlights...

response 4 of 40:

Feb 24 12:13 UTC 1996

Listed below is the first few paragraphs of an item I just pulled off of
Altavista regarding the Marfa lights:

The ghost lights of Marfa, Texas still shine as bright as ever and are
   still as mysterious as they were when they were first seen by early
   settlers who drove their herds into the Marfa area in 1883.
    
   Who can explain their source? Where are they actually located? How 
   long have they been in existence? The mystery is no closer to being
   solved now than when           first seen. 
           
   Robert Ellison came to Marfa in 1883 and off-loaded his cattle in
   Alpine. He then drove the herd west and on the second night out, while
   camped just this side of Paisano Pass, he saw strange lights in the
   distance. At first , it was feared that they were Apache signal fires.
   Mr. Ellison searched the countryside by horseback. He finally realized
   that the lights were not man-made. Other early settlers assured him  
   that they too, had seen the lights and had never been able to identify
them.
                   
   The lights appear almost every night. They seem to come from somewhere
   east of the Chinati mountains but just exactly where has never been
   determined. Those who have searched for their source during the day
   have found nothing! No buildings, no campfires, no evidence of human  
   activity. And no evidence of mineral deposits or swamp areas.  
    
   The ghost lights appear in different ways to different people. Some
   swear they have seen them divide and form separate balls of light. 
   Others claim that they have seen them move up and down. All agree that
   they glow as softly as a star at times and then brighten to the
   intensity of a spotlight. Sometimes they pop off and on. As they fade
   they seem to be receding. There are even accounts of people who  
   claimed they were pursued by the lights. 
    
   A Marfa lights viewing site has been provided for the public by the   
   Texas Highway Department on Highway 90, about 9 miles east of Marfa.  
   Ghost light watchers can park in the area and scan the southwestern  
   horizon, looking toward Chinati Peak. Using the blinking red light on
======================================
If you want to read more, there are lots of references to this on       
http://www.altavista.digital.com.  Just search on MARFA LIGHTS.

response 6 of 40:

Feb 25 00:48 UTC 1996

It sounds like it was going on when the first history of the region was
recorded.

response 8 of 40:

Feb 25 12:53 UTC 1996

You could be right.  Maybe there is some temperature phenomena there which
reflects moon or starlight.  Seems funny that if this is as easy to see as
the articles claim, and going on for 100+ years, that it has not had more
notoriety.  

In any case, each year I take a 2 week drive through the Southwest.  I will
try to hit that area this time.

response 10 of 40:

Feb 27 01:49 UTC 1996

I usually make it in the fall.  The last 5 years, at least.  I used to make
it with an old friend from High School, but it has been with my older brother
for the past 3 years.  It is a great adventure each time.  You can see a
summary of it in the "travel" conf.  (I think it was under the title
"Southwest Adventure" or something like that - Nov/Dec 95)

response 12 of 40:

Feb 28 01:45 UTC 1996

From the references you can find it sounds like they are there "almost every
night" and "weather permitting."

response 14 of 40:

Feb 28 23:41 UTC 1996

I think it must be some natural phenomena and it must be real.  (At least real
in the sense that if you go there, you would see lights.)  I don't think it
is little green men who have been there since 1883 or whenever.  I plan to
go there next time I take a casual drive thru the Southwest and try to see
what they look like.  What do you think?  Have you read the stuff posted on
the "net"?   Some sound bizarre while others sound like credible first hand
reports.

response 16 of 40:

Mar 1 02:53 UTC 1996

That's as good a theory as any!

response 18 of 40:

Mar 1 23:29 UTC 1996

Ionized particles in the upper atmosphere, I think, but I'm not the one to
ask.

response 20 of 40:

Mar 8 19:44 UTC 1996

Or maybee it's just a bunch of cockroaches...
~-)

response 22 of 40:

Mar 11 18:38 UTC 1996

what if cockroaches had magical power to bend light

response 24 of 40:

Mar 13 03:07 UTC 1996

<kain chuckles>