33 replies to this topic

[Logical Thought]

Englishgent, on 15 February 2012 - 04:32 AM, said:

Would you lose interest if they were perfectly natural rather than paranormal?  
IMO it is more likely to be marsh gas (in the UK we call it ''will 'o the wisp'). Shame the attached link didn't show any photographs so I am only giving a guess here.    

no, I wouldn't lose interest, I'm interested in any unusual natural phenomena not just the paranormal. It would be a little disappointing though since it is one of the few mysterious places in my state. I've heard a little about the will 'o wisp, did they ever figure out what they were?

[Englishgent]

Logical Thought, on 15 February 2012 - 09:54 PM, said:

no, I wouldn't lose interest, I'm interested in any unusual natural phenomena not just the paranormal. It would be a little disappointing though since it is one of the few mysterious places in my state. I've heard a little about the will 'o wisp, did they ever figure out what they were?

Hi Logical.
Yes, it has been known what causes this for some time now. This wiki link explains it very well and gives worldwide examples of legends etc.

http://en.wikipedia....ill-o'-the-wisp

Basically it is just marsh gases from decaying vegatable matter igniting on contact with the air. See above link for full info

[Michelle]

Englishgent, on 16 February 2012 - 02:10 AM, said:

Hi Logical.
Yes, it has been known what causes this for some time now. This wiki link explains it very well and gives worldwide examples of legends etc.

http://en.wikipedia....ill-o'-the-wisp

Basically it is just marsh gases from decaying vegatable matter igniting on contact with the air. See above link for full info

That description doesn't fit the area in question though. This is rocky, mountain terrain with very few, if any, tiny mountain streams which only flow after heavy rains. They are dry most of the year.

It was most interesting to watch. It floated low to the ground, then up at the top of the trees, circled around behind the trees and back and forth over a large area. We studied it for a good fifteen minutes, trying to see if there was a source for it, but could see none. There didn't seem to be any trails, roads or breaks in the tree line at all. Only a fool would have been climbing the side of these mountains, where we saw it, at night.

[Sakari]

This is one of the things I would love to go see, and it is one of those things that does exist, no debating it


National Geographic had a special on this, and the ones in Norway.....I really wonder why there is not much more fuss about this in the Scientific community.....I have not seen any real explanations, just theories.

Anyway, here is a clip

:

[Englishgent]

Michelle, on 16 February 2012 - 06:54 PM, said:

That description doesn't fit the area in question though. This is rocky, mountain terrain with very few, if any, tiny mountain streams which only flow after heavy rains. They are dry most of the year.

It was most interesting to watch. It floated low to the ground, then up at the top of the trees, circled around behind the trees and back and forth over a large area. We studied it for a good fifteen minutes, trying to see if there was a source for it, but could see none. There didn't seem to be any trails, roads or breaks in the tree line at all. Only a fool would have been climbing the side of these mountains, where we saw it, at night.

Hi Michelle. I was not aware of the local terrain there and was just putting forward a possible solution. knowing now what sort of terrain there is, I would think it unlikely that this is the cause. It will be interesting when the cause is eventually found

[Tiger In A Tie]

Intriguing article. I admit I haven't done much research on the topic, but I am familiar with the case of the Paulding Lights. There was huge debate about what they were, then a group of Michigan tech students looked into it and proved the lights to be car headlights/taillights. Video here, for those interested-

Now, with the Brown Mountain Lights, has a similar investigation ever been done on them? I saw a video of a light that appeared to slowly drift upwards from the mountain and suddenly disappear- I can post if wanted. I personally am unsure what I feel, there's still a lot of mystery in this case.

[Sakari]

Tiger In A Tie, on 17 February 2012 - 08:46 PM, said:

Now, with the Brown Mountain Lights, has a similar investigation ever been done on them? I saw a video of a light that appeared to slowly drift upwards from the mountain and suddenly disappear- I can post if wanted. I personally am unsure what I feel, there's still a lot of mystery in this case.

The video you may be speaking of is 3 posts above this one......Yes, it has and is investigated.....Not as much as the lights in Norway though.

[Michelle]

Englishgent, on 17 February 2012 - 01:47 AM, said:

Hi Michelle. I was not aware of the local terrain there and was just putting forward a possible solution. knowing now what sort of terrain there is, I would think it unlikely that this is the cause. It will be interesting when the cause is eventually found

Without a little mystery, life would become mundane.

[lightly]

The earth does have an electrical field, as well as a magnetic field.    Maybe "earth lights"   have something to do with that?  If it looks like  light , and shines like  light,  maybe it's  light?

*

Edited by lightly, 18 February 2012 - 07:37 PM.

[Sakari]

lightly, on 18 February 2012 - 07:35 PM, said:

The earth does have an electrical field, as well as a magnetic field.    Maybe "earth lights"   have something to do with that?  If it looks like  light , and shines like  light,  maybe it's  light?

*

It is light, just not sure how it is produced.

[Rafterman]

Not really much of a mystery at all:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4226

So let's wrap up what we've learned about the two different manifestations of the Brown Mountain Lights. Regarding those that appear in the sky above a ridge, it's apparent that the 1922 USGS report solved it as described in the following conclusion. Today, nearly 90 years later, the lights are coming from different sources but this analysis probably still holds up:

"In summary it may be said that the Brown Mountain lights are clearly not of unusual nature or origin. About 47 percent of the lights that the writer was able to study instrumentally were due to automobile headlights, 33 percent to locomotive headlights, 10 percent to stationary lights, and 10 percent to brush fires."

As for the lights appearing on the faces of the hills, we find there are no historical references to such a thing, and only a few recent YouTube videos and modern claims reporting it, in this age of LED flashlights, lanterns, headlamps, and iPhone screens. So I'm confident calling this one unexplained, but also not especially interesting or surprising.

It is all too often that we eagerly accept wild and sensational phenomena, which causes us to shut out the real science behind what's going on. I find real wonder in mirage refractions, and I find great excitement in such perfect solutions as the correlation of the locomotive with the 1909 Lights reports. This wonder and excitement are lost to those who replace science with sensationalism.

[Sakari]

Rafterman, on 18 February 2012 - 11:02 PM, said:

Not really much of a mystery at all:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4226

So let's wrap up what we've learned about the two different manifestations of the Brown Mountain Lights. Regarding those that appear in the sky above a ridge, it's apparent that the 1922 USGS report solved it as described in the following conclusion. Today, nearly 90 years later, the lights are coming from different sources but this analysis probably still holds up:

"In summary it may be said that the Brown Mountain lights are clearly not of unusual nature or origin. About 47 percent of the lights that the writer was able to study instrumentally were due to automobile headlights, 33 percent to locomotive headlights, 10 percent to stationary lights, and 10 percent to brush fires."

As for the lights appearing on the faces of the hills, we find there are no historical references to such a thing, and only a few recent YouTube videos and modern claims reporting it, in this age of LED flashlights, lanterns, headlamps, and iPhone screens. So I'm confident calling this one unexplained, but also not especially interesting or surprising.

It is all too often that we eagerly accept wild and sensational phenomena, which causes us to shut out the real science behind what's going on. I find real wonder in mirage refractions, and I find great excitement in such perfect solutions as the correlation of the locomotive with the 1909 Lights reports. This wonder and excitement are lost to those who replace science with sensationalism.

I think you know how I look and feel about things......The Brown Mountain lights ( at least the ones on the video I posted ) are not LED's, Automoblies, or trains......Spirits?...No.

The footage I posted is a short, from a team that went there to study them, and National Geographic went also.They had several teams in several areas, all communicating.In Norway,
the same type of thing happens, and as from what i have read, they are studied by a University, and no answers so far....It is un-explained as far as I am concerned, and I would love to be able to see them.

The Norway lights look and act the same, have the same type of terrain, etc.....I think they are the same thing, and hope they find a answer when I can still see to read it.

More on whom is investigating, there are also US Universities that go there to research this.....I kind of wonder why the Brown Mountain lights do not get this funding?

Quote

Later, the EMBLA program was initiated. It brings together established  scientists and students into researching these lights. Leading research  institutions are Østfold University College (Norway) and the Italian National Research Council.

Quote

Hessdalen is a small valley in the central part of Norway. At the end of 1981 through 1984,  residents of the Valley became concerned and alarmed about strange, unexplained lights that appeared at many locations throughout the Valley. Hundreds of lights were observed. At the peak of activity there were about 20 reports a week.    Project Hessdalen was established  in the summer of 1983. A field investigation was carried out  between 21.January and 26.February 1984. Fifty-three light observations were made during the field investigation. You may read the details in  the technical report.  There was an additional field investigation in the winter of 1985. However, no phenomena were seen  during the period when the instruments were present.

Lights are still being observed in the Hessdalen Valley, but their frequency has  decreased to about 20 observations a year. An automatic  measurement station was put up in Hessdalen in August 1998. Both data and alarm-pictures can be viewed  on this website.

for above :   Project Hessdalen is a project at Østfold University College

http://www.hessdalen.org/index_e.shtml

[Rafterman]

Sakari, on 18 February 2012 - 11:51 PM, said:

I think you know how I look and feel about things......The Brown Mountain lights ( at least the ones on the video I posted ) are not LED's, Automoblies, or trains......Spirits?...No.

The footage I posted is a short, from a team that went there to study them, and National Geographic went also.They had several teams in several areas, all communicating.In Norway,
the same type of thing happens, and as from what i have read, they are studied by a University, and no answers so far....It is un-explained as far as I am concerned, and I would love to be able to see them.

The Norway lights look and act the same, have the same type of terrain, etc.....I think they are the same thing, and hope they find a answer when I can still see to read it.

More on whom is investigating, there are also US Universities that go there to research this.....I kind of wonder why the Brown Mountain lights do not get this funding?









for above :   Project Hessdalen is a project at Østfold University College

http://www.hessdalen.org/index_e.shtml

Ah, Hessdelan, Brian Dunning has covered that one as well:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4270

All of these lights seem to be explainable by a handful of phenomenon and Norway is no different, with quite a large percentage of misidentified aircraft lights thrown in as well.

Edited by Rafterman, 19 February 2012 - 04:46 AM.

[Sakari]

Rafterman, on 19 February 2012 - 04:45 AM, said:

Ah, Hessdelan, Brian Dunning has covered that one as well:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4270

All of these lights seem to be explainable by a handful of phenomenon and Norway is no different, with quite a large percentage of misidentified aircraft lights thrown in as well.

You are only sourcing the skeptoid....And his opinions.....I would not, and can not consider that fact.

As I stated before, none of these have yet been determined as to what causes them.....Opinions yes, but nothing else.

As I said, colleges and Universities are studying the ones in Norway....I guess they do not read the skeptoid?

Edited by Sakari, 19 February 2012 - 05:01 AM.

[brizink]

I was lucky enough to have seen the lights at about 6:45 in the morning when headed to work one morning. I lived on the opposite side of Brown Mountain from where the lights are usually reported. The sun was already on the mountain but the light was much brighter and more brilliant than the sun's light. Most locals don't ever get to see it, so I feel very privileged to have witnessed these legendary lights.