Dr. Dan Caton, Professor and Director of Observatories, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Appalachian State University (Boone, NC) installed and operates the camera as part of an on-going research project. Dr. Caton also installed and operates another research camera (BML Cam2) located at the southern end of Linville Gorge. The images from both cameras have been compiled into nightly videos and posted on YouTube---just search "Brown Mountain Lights Camera 1" (or Camera 2) for the individual nightly videos. Both cameras are modified highly light-sensitive comet-hunting cameras, as evidenced by the frequent diffraction/over-saturation/lens flare features produced by overly bright lights.
To date, numerous lights have been recorded by Cam1, including: town/city/rural lights in the valleys beyond Brown Mountain, communication tower lights, airplanes and helicopters, highway-vehicle lights, off-highway vehicle lights, stadium lights, and back-country user lights. Natural lights captured by the camera include bright stars, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, the moon and lightning. Disappointingly, Cam1 has not recorded any support for mysterious or unknown lights in the Brown Mountain area.
BML Cam 1 recorded nearly 280 hours of nocturnal observation time on 28 nights during March 2014, resulting in nearly 33,500 30-second time-exposure images. The following images are selected to show some significant features. Note that the camera position does not change during this sequence of images. Blurry or out-of-focus distant lights are caused by rising heat currents that distort the incoming light waves during the time exposures---lights that instantly flash on and off once produce sharp images.
Lenoir's Easter Cross atop Hibriten Mtn was lighted from Mar 5 until Apr 22---this is the same light structure that the city of Lenoir lights as the Christmas Star every Christmas season. These seasonal lights are clearly visible from the popular BML observations sites and make excellent staged light tests.
Another notable light tonight is the new bright light on the horizon south of Granite Falls that shined for about 3 hours, then suddenly went out at 10:19 pm.
First of 4 image-sequence showing a MedEvac helicopter with bright landing light flying north above the top of Brown Mountain and heading for Caldwell Memorial Hospital in Lenoir
Second of 4 image-sequence showing a MedEvac helicopter with bright landing light flying north above the top of Brown Mountain and heading for Caldwell Memorial Hospital in Lenoir
Third of 4 image-sequence showing a MedEvac helicopter with bright landing light flying north above the top of Brown Mountain and heading for Caldwell Memorial Hospital in Lenoir
Fourth of 4 image-sequence showing a MedEvac helicopter with bright landing light flying north above the top of Brown Mountain and heading for Caldwell Memorial Hospital in Lenoir. Helicopter lands near downtown Lenoir at 10:38 pm and then leaves at 11:09 pm flying back above the top of Brown Mountian. On the return flight, the bright landing light is replaced by much dimmer navigational lights.
New unexpected extremely bright light on the horizon south of Statesville airport starts at 8:25 pm, slowly brightens & inlarges, then slowly dissappears by 8:48 pm---perhaps a burning building?
Bright moonrise at 5:05 am (23% Wanning Cresent)
New unexpected very bright light just east of mountain ridge south of Lenoir---perhaps a brush or forest fire?
Venus in morning sky above Granite Falls
Note Lenoir's Easter Cross atop Hibriten Mtn is still lighted
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