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The Marfa Lights or the Marfa Mystery Lights are unexplained lights usually seen on Mitchell Flat east of Marfa, Texas of the United States. The first reported sighting of these was by Robert Reed Ellison in 1883, two days after he arrived with a group of settlers at what is now Alpine, Texas. At first, he and other settlers believed these were Apache campfires. But according to the Handbook of Texas Online, "... when they investigated they found no ashes or other evidence of a campsite."

These were the first settlers of European descent in the vicinity, and this account quoting his verbal descriptions was made by his daughter, Mrs. Julia Plumbley of Marfa, now deceased. Many others have provided seemingly similar independent subsequent accounts dating back to the end of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century.

The characteristics of Marfa Lights

Reports of evidently similar strange nocturnal lights in this area have persisted all through the twentieth century, and they continue today. These reports often describe brightly glowing balls floating above the ground, or sometimes high in the air. Colors are usually described as white, yellow, orange or red, but green and blue are sometimes reported. The balls are said to hover at about shoulder height, or to move laterally at low speeds, or sometimes to shoot around rapidly in any direction. They often appear in pairs or groups, according to reports, to divide into pairs or merge together, to disappear and reappear, and sometimes to move in seemingly regular patterns. Their sizes are typically said to resemble soccer balls or basketballs.

The Marfa Lights are elusive but not genuinely rare. They appear occasionally and unpredictably, perhaps once in about two weeks, averaged over time. There are no reliable reports of daytime sightings, the Marfa Lights seem to be a nocturnal phenomenon only. They may appear at any time of night, typically south of Route 90, five to fifteen miles east of Marfa, at unpredictable directions and apparent distances. They can persist from a fraction of a second to several hours. There is evidently no connection between appearances of the Marfa Lights and anything else besides nighttime hours. They appear in all seasons of the year and in any weather, seemingly uninfluenced by such factors. They sometimes have been observed during late dusk and early dawn, when the landscape is dimly illuminated.

It is extremely difficult to approach an ongoing display of the Marfa Lights, mainly due to the difficult and dangerous terrain of Mitchell Flat. Also, all of the land where the Marfa Lights are observed is private property, and access is prohibited without explicit permission from the owners. There are only a very few accounts of successful attempts to move very close to observed Marfa Lights. Still, there are multiple accounts of the Marfa Lights observed at close range, where the phenomenon happened to arise near the observer. These generally describe objects resembling fireworks, except lacking both smoke and sound.

Reports of similar nocturnal lights

Less frequent accounts of seemingly similar anomalous nocturnal lights have arisen along a broad and elongated region within west Texas, stretching generally from El Paso southeastward along the Rio Grande valley, past Big Bend National Park and farther southeastward into Mexico. Also, repeated appearances of apparently similar lights have been reported worldwide. Some of these emerge, and then seem to fade over time, and finally disappear. Others persist over many years. Undoubtedly the most renown among the latter are the Hessdalen lights, of Hessdalen, Norway. A similar, less well recognized, persistent phenomenon are the Min Min lights of northeastern Australia, and a number of other like cases are known.

The skeptics

Skeptics discount paranormal sources for the lights, attributing them to mistaken sightings of ordinary nighttime lights, such as distant vehicle lights, ranch lights, or astronomical objects. A few suggest they have deliberately been given a paranomal mystique designed to attract tourist business to this remote west Texas area, pointing out that it wasn't until July 1957 that the earliest published account of the Marfa Lights, "The Mystery of the Texas Ghost Light," by Paul Moran, appeared in Coronet Magazine. These critics challenge the historical reports cited by this and other published accounts as to have been manufactured. Creditors do not take this challenge seriously, and most skeptics do not consider it a viable avenue of attack.

There is no serious question that most witness reports of the Marfa Lights, usually made by visitors to the area, refer to strange looking nighttime lights that can be seen at great distances, often more than 20 miles over Mitchell Flat. While there is no compelling reason to doubt the numerous accounts of the Marfa Lights from local residents of the area, which span multiple generations and continue today. Explanations for these still elude any reasonable analysis. A number of projects carried out by nonresident investigators over several decades have generally confirmed the appearance of the anomalous lights often with photographic and video evidence. However, no formal scientific investigation of the Marfa Lights has been attempted. Many suggestions have been offered to explain the reported observations, but no consensus has been reached.

The dominant skeptical explanation seems to be that the lights are a sort of mirage caused by sharp temperature gradients between cold and warm layers of air. Proponents of this explanation, reject the close-range accounts of the phenomenon which are invariably anecdotal.

Visiting Marfa

Marfa is located at 30°18′43″N 104°1′29″W / 30.31194°N 104.02472°W / 30.31194; -104.02472¹.

File:Marfa lights.gif

References

Judith M. Brueske, Ph.D., "The Marfa Lights, Being a Collection of First-Hand Accounts by People Who Have Seen the Lights Close-Up or in Unusual Circumstances, and Related Material," Second Revised Edition, Ocotillo Enterprises, P.O. Box 195, Alpine, Texas 79831, USA, 1989;
James Bunnell, "Night Orbs," Lacey Publishing Company, 166 Colorado Drive, Cedar Creek, Texas 78612-3401, USA, 2003;
Herbert Lindee, "Ghosts Lights of Texas," Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 166, No. 4, Summer 1992, pp. 400-406;
Elton Miles, "Tales of the Big Bend," Texas A&M University Press, 1976, pp. 149-167;
Paul Moran, "The Mystery of the Texas Ghost Light," Coronet Magazine, July 1957;
Dennis Stacy, "The Marfa Lights, A Viewer's Guide," Seale & Stacy, Box 12434, San Antonio, Texas 78212, USA, 1989;
David Stipp, "Marfa, Texas, Finds a Flickering Fame in Mystery Lights," Wall Street Journal, March 21, 1984, p. A1.

External links

Marfa lights videos
Marfa Lights (a skeptical view)
Marfa Lights (anything but skeptical)

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 Reports of evidently similar strange nocturnal lights in this area have persisted all through the [[twentieth century]], and they continue today. These reports often describe brightly glowing balls floating above the ground, or sometimes high in the air. Colors are usually described as white, yellow, orange or red, but green and blue are sometimes reported. The balls are said to hover at about shoulder height, or to move laterally at low speeds, or sometimes to shoot around rapidly in any direction. They often appear in pairs or groups, according to reports, to divide into pairs or merge together, to disappear and reappear, and sometimes to move in seemingly regular patterns. Their sizes are typically said to resemble soccer balls or basketballs.
-The Marfa Lights are elusive but not genuinely rare. They appear occasionally and unpredictably, perhaps once in about two weeks, averaged over time. There are no reliable reports of daytime sightings, the Marfa Lights seem to be a nocturnal phenomenon only. They may appear at any time of night, typically south of [[Route 90]], five to fifteen miles east of Marfa, at unpredictable directions and apparent distances. They can persist from a fraction of a second to several hours. There is evidently no connection between appearances of the Marfa Lights and anything else besides nighttime hours. They appear in all seasons of the year and in any weather, seemingly uninfluenced by such factors. They sometimes have been observed during late dusk and early dawn, when the landscape is dimly illuminated.
+The Marfa Lights are elusive but not genuinely rare. They appear occasionally and unpredictably, perhaps once in about two weeks, averaged over time. There are no reliable reports of daytime sightings, the Marfa Lights seem to be a nocturnal phenomenon only. They may appear at any time of night, typically south of [[U.S._Highway_90|Route 90]], five to fifteen miles east of Marfa, at unpredictable directions and apparent distances. They can persist from a fraction of a second to several hours. There is evidently no connection between appearances of the Marfa Lights and anything else besides nighttime hours. They appear in all seasons of the year and in any weather, seemingly uninfluenced by such factors. They sometimes have been observed during late dusk and early dawn, when the landscape is dimly illuminated.
 It is extremely difficult to approach an ongoing display of the Marfa Lights, mainly due to the difficult and dangerous terrain of Mitchell Flat. Also, all of the land where the Marfa Lights are observed is private property, and access is prohibited without explicit permission from the owners. There are only a very few accounts of successful attempts to move very close to observed Marfa Lights. Still, there are multiple accounts of the Marfa Lights observed at close range, where the phenomenon happened to arise near the observer. These generally describe objects resembling [[firework]]s, except lacking both smoke and sound.