tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8214052264524742782.post2668002014650738162..comments2022-03-26T23:45:39.946-04:00Comments on The Brown Mountain Lights: Catawba Valley City Lights November 9, 2012Ed Speerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298698789029098770noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8214052264524742782.post-14512894722286554072012-12-18T12:19:59.320-05:002012-12-18T12:19:59.320-05:00Why do the lights look like they are out of focus?...Why do the lights look like they are out of focus? Because they are out of focus! It turns out its nearly impossible to capture well-focused images of the distant lights. First, camera shake during the long time exposures blurr the images, but long time exposures are needed to capture features of the landscape like skylines and ridge lines. Second, rising heat waves from the ground cause the lights to flicker, twinkle, undulate, and even change color due to the refraction by air currents of differing densities (as in mirages). The greater the magnification of the camera lens, the longer time exposure that is necessary and the greater the chance of blurry images due to camera shake and air refractions.<br /><br />Thus identifying individual lights is best done by observing its location and position relative to adjacent lights or lankmarks. Patterns of adjacent lights are often the most diagnostic, such as the vertical alignment of lights on a communication tower, a cluster of tower lights atop a hill, or a close-spaced line of lights on a skyline ridge like the houses south of Valdese. Ed Speerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06254260223665437838noreply@blogger.com