Yes they are real!

What are the BMLs?  Are they Real?
Yes, they are real!  But in order to say that, we have to come up with a definition that excludes all post-observational interpretations.  Thus the following definition is based on the original observers’ on-site, real-time interpretation, not someone else’s subsequent interpretation:  A BML is any nocturnal light, seen in the vicinity of Brown Mountain, with an origin that is unknown to the observer at the time of the observation

 

 

A BML is any nocturnal light, seen in the vicinity of Brown Mountain,

with an origin that is unknown to the observer

at the time of the observation

 

This definition is purposefully broad to include all sightings by everyone who has seen lights that they identified as unexplained in the area since the late 1800s.  It is the assumed or presumed unknown origin that makes the lights mysterious in the first place.  Each person's sighting is real and significant to them and none are dismissed as not-real.  Since the distinction of 'unknown origin' is the determination of the observer, then all lights visible in the area must also be BMLs!  Let me explain.

Eye-Witness sightings

Every light visible in the area of Brown Mountain probably has been called a mysterious unknown-origin light (in other words a BML) by someone either recently or in the past---remember it is left up to each individual observer to label the light they saw as explained or unexplained.  Over the past two years, our research team has amassed a vast collection of BML eyewitness descriptions, both recent and historical.  Although these descriptions are often conflicting and vary greatly in the details of what was seen, none can be dismissed, even those that can be easily identified by others as misinterpretations of normal lights.  It is clear from these varied descriptions that people are not always seeing the same thing, but rather they are seeing a large number of different light phenomena; none of which should be rejected as not real.  Certainly for many observers their sighting was not only memorable, but also unique, fascinating, and in some cases, life-changing. Therefore, to include all mystery light sightings as BMLs, the definition given above is based on the observers' characterization of the light as having an 'unidentified-origin'.  However, just because a light is unknown to an observer doesn't mean that light is also unknown or unknowable to someone else.

 

The difference between an identified light and a mystery light

is often the difference between an informed observer

and an uninformed or misinformed observer

 

Identification of Light Origins

While misidentification of lights plays a major role in the Legend of the BMLs, observation of lights defying easy explanation also plays a role.  The difference between an identified light and an unidentified light is often the difference between an informed observer and an uninformed or misinformed observer.  One person’s BML is another person’s street light.  One person’s BML is another person’s flashlight, or communication tower light, or airplane, or campfire, or car headlight, or firefly, or International Space Station, or planet, etc.  And yet some lights defy all attempts to identify them by scientific or scholarly investigation.  However, those lights that seem to defy scientific or otherwise scholarly explanation are generally from sightings that lack sufficient details to classify them as anything; as a result those lights are temporarily listed as 'unclassified' until such time that their actual origin might be determined.

To know the BMLs, First Know the Observer

The level of one's nighttime outdoor experience, familiarity with nature, supernatural beliefs, and understanding of science vary greatly amongst observers, yet each of these plays a major role in how an observer interprets what they see.  As expected, an informed observer is much less likely to misinterpret what they see, while an uninformed or misinformed observer is more likely to misinterpret what they see.

Don't Mess With my BMLs

Everyone enjoys a good mystery and the desire to believe in unexplained or unexplainable lights is strong and even highly emotional for many people.  In fact, most people aren't receptive to hearing something that threatens their beliefs, favorite mystery, or opinions.  "I know what I saw, and it wasn't a manmade light" and "Some things just can't be explained" are common reframes from those unwilling to give up the mystery, or to even consider alternatives.  On the other hand, there are those who sincerely believe they witnessed aliens, UFOs, disembodied spirits, ghosts, secret government projects, or otherwise unexplained paranormal phenomena.  To everyone, no matter what you believe, the BMLs are real!  It's just our interpretations of what we see that differ.

Best photo of Blue Ghost Fireflies

This 4-hour time exposure is perhaps the best image of the elusive Blue Ghost Fireflies (BGFs) I've ever seen!  It was taken by professional photographer Spencer Black on June 8, 2013 at Dupont Forest State Park near Hendersonville, NC.  Black, from Asheville, NC is well known for his very-long-exposure night time photography, which is exactly the skill needed to photograph the rare BGFs.

 

The BGFs do not flash like the more-common yellow-blinking fireflies; instead they burn continuously for 10 seconds to two minutes while flying up to 200 feet horizontally just above the forest floor.  The human eye detects the dim light of the BGF as white or bluish white (thus the name Blue Ghost Fireflies), while the camera records the light as yellowish green.  Only the rods in the human eye detect faint light, the cones of the eye cannot; thus color is not precieved when looking at BGFs----it takes both the rods and the cones working together to precieve color.  The camera captures the true color.  The same phenomenon occurs with astronomers who see only white (or bluish white) stars through the telescope, while a camera attached to the telescope records the true colors.

Looking at the photo, imagine how dark the forest must have been as it took the camera lens 4 hours to capture even this much light!  In addition, probably only a few BGFs were active during the 4 hr exposure; i.e., an observer may have seen only a small number of fireflies at any one time.  Now imagine yourself alone and deep in the woods on a very dark night and seeing a few of these lights moving amid the trees and brush---if you didn't previously know what the BGFs were, you could easily be mystified by the lights.  Given the behavior of the BGFs as highly sensitive to light  (turning off when you turn on a flashlight & only coming back on when your turn your light off) and sensitive to air vibrations (turning off when you walk toward them & turning back on only when you stop moving)----one can easily understand how some uninformed observer can mistakenly think the lights are interacting with them (as in 'intelligent behavior').  We have some anecdotal stories of observers seeing lights that perfectly match those of the BGFs, including stories of some folks who were so terrified of the lights that they ran away or climbed trees to get away from them!  And one observer on Brown Mountain in the early 1960's apparently intrepreted the lights as benovelent beings from Venus and allowed himself to be abducted!

Our research team has verified the existence of BGFs in this area of western NC.  We have seen & collected them at Wiseman's View (7 miles west of Brown Mountain) and Buck Creek Gap (25 miles northwest of Brown Mountain).  In addition, they have reportedly been seen on the east rim of Linville Gorge (5 miles west of Brown Mountain), on Harper's Creek (about 5.5 miles north of Brown Mountain), on North Muddy Creek (about 12 miles southwest of Brown Mountain), at the Highway 181 overlook (3 miles northwest of Brown Mountain) and on Chestnut Mtn (2.5 miles north of Brown Mountain).  We hope to confirm their presence on Brown Mountain this coming spring.

Views from Table Rock 16Oct13

Photography taken from the top of Table Rock last night

Light wind, heavy clouds, and dense haze from high humidity hampered photography last night (16Oct13) from the top of Table Rock (east rim of Linville Gorge).  Numerous hunters were encountered on the access roads and in the parking lot, while 11 campers were found at the summit itself.  Lights from both groups probably could be seen from some of the other popular observation sites; thus anyone out looking for BMLs should be aware of the possibility of the increased present of back-country users at this time of the year.

Hickory, NC City Lights

Clouds slightly illuminated by the moon (hidden behind clouds in upper left corner of photo)

Tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i camera w/ 18-50 mm zoom lens

12 second time exposure, ISO-100, f/3.5

Hickory, NC City Lights

Tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i camera w/ 75-300 mm zoom lens and 1.4X tele converter

10 second time exposure, ISO-100, f/7.1

Google Data Center building, Lenior, NC

Long row of dim lights just left of center of image; Brown Mountain in foreground

Tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i camera w/ 75-300 mm zoom lens and 1.4X tele converter

5 second time exposure, ISO-100, f/8

 

Stealth Campsite w/ rock fire ring at Little Table Rock

This is the campsite visible in the 29Jul13 photo # 4384 nightime image showing campfire and light

Campsite is at the end of a razorback ridge well below the summit 

and on the southwest side of Table Rock---many folks call this Little Table Rock

N 35.89027; W 81.88752

 Canon EOS REBEL T3i camera w/ 18-50 mm zoom lens

ISO-160, f/3.5

Lights on Table Rock from Wiseman's View 21Aug13

Camper & hiker lights atop Table Rock were photographed last night (21Aug13) from Wiseman's View. 

Hiker light on access trail to summit of Table Rock

Enlarge image to see single white light near right side of photo

Tripod-mounted Canon REBEL EOS T31 camera w/ 75-300 mm zoom lens and 1.4X tele converter

60 second time exposure, ISO-100, f/9

 

Camper lights on Table Rock

Enlarge image to see single white light & orange camp fire near right side of photo

Tripod-mounted Canon REBEL EOS T31 camera w/ 75-300 mm zoom lens and 1.4X tele converter

120 second time exposure, ISO-100, f/9

 

 Compare the 21Aug13 images above with this one below taken on 25Jul12 by Alex Glover of our BML research team.  Alex captured the lights of two of our hiking team members as they climbed the access trail to the summit of Table Rock.  The lights they were carrying are shown for comparisons.

 

What Have We Learned So Far about the Legend of the Brown Mountain Lights?

In spite of numerous published, but never referenced, and thus unconfirmed, stories to the contrary, the Brown Mountain Lights (BMLs) were not seen by native Americans, or anyone else before the days of electricity in the area.  Instead, the original Legend of the BMLs first arose in the 10-30 years immediately after residential electricity first arrived and then quickly spread throughout the populated valley communities to the south of Brown Mountain.  Electricity first arrived in Hickory in 1888 and spread throughtout the surrounding communities by 1900, while the Legend itself actually originated between 1900 & 1922.  Seems the unsuspecting mountain residents, who did not yet have electricity, simply were unaware of just how far electric lights could be seen at night and misintrepreted the distant manmade lights for mysterious supernatural lights.  Over the next 100 years, the Legend has morphed several times as it slowly became obvious to everyone that manmade lights in Catawba Valley were highly visible at night from the higher mountains west and northwest of Brown Mountain.  Today the Legend no longer focuses on distant lights seen over the top of Brown Mountain (town and city lights of Catawba Valley), but instead focuses on less easily identified lights in areas surrounding Brown Mountain, such as those seen in Linville Gorge.  These newer unknown lights are probably due to back-country users such as campers, hikers, rock climbers, hunters, fishermen, forest rangers and maintenance personnel, sightseers, and pranksters.

 Over the last 100 years, many different theories have been proposed to explain the BMLs

However, after 18 months of serious investigations, I've found only a few phenomenon that actually produce nighttime lights in the area;
however, these probably explain the all of the reported mysterious BMLs

 

IMHO, the vast majority of mysterious lights seen since 1900 are manmade lights, specifically electric lights.  While a tiny percentage of mistaken lights might be due to Blue Ghost Fireflies, celestial bodies (sun, planets, stars, etc), lighting (ball lightning &/or heat lightning), and possibly swamp gas (not yet confirmed on Brown Mountain).  Of course a tiny percentage of unexplained lights also exists---mainly due to the lack of sufficient factual details recorded by overly-excited observers.

 

The Legend of the Brown Mountain Lights will continue to exist as long as people cling to unfounded supernatural beliefs and ignore factual evidence to the contrary. 

Additional morphs of the Legend are to be expected.

 

 

Moon Rise over Brown Mountain July 24, 2013

Moon Rise over Brown Mountain July 24, 2013

 

 

The 85% Waning Gibbous Moon (the Full Moon was two days ago) approximately 54 minutes after moon rise on July 24, 2013. Table Rock on the east rim of Linville Gorge can be seen on the skyline on the right side of the image. Brown Mountain is the nearly-flat ridge in the middle distance. City lights is the valleys east of Brown Mountain are visible.  This wide-angle, two-minute time exposure was taken from Wiseman's View on the west rim of Linville Gorge.

Canon REBEL EOS DSLR camera, ISO-100

Photography from Bear Rocks on Brown Mountain

July 16-17, 2013 Observation

On Tuesday, July 16, 2013, Cato Holler and I hiked to Brown Mountain and camped in the Rock City boulders (Devil’s Hole) area on the uppermost part of the north slope of the mountain.  Our purpose for the trip was to check for bioluminescent fireflies and glow worms.  Unfortunately only a few fireflies and no glow worms were seen.  Otherwise, we did get some neat photography!

We parked in Chestnut Gap along FS Rd 982 (Mortimer Road) and hiked south the 3 miles along FS Rd 4099 (Little Chestnut Mountain Road), then ½ mile up the connector trail to the summit of Brown Mountain.  We arrived about dark and set up camp within the large boulders of Rock City.  Afterwards, we hiked to Bear Rocks (approximately 1 mile by trail) where we photographed runnels, distant lights, skylines and planes.  For proper orientation, Bear Rocks is an area of very large exposed rocks on the northwest side of Brown Mountain at coordinates 35.91654^O N and 81.76766^O west.  Bear Rocks also includes Bear Cave, an approximately 50 ft X 100 ft maze of covered passages including a through going passage that some ATV enthusiasts ride their motorcycles through.

A careful search of Bear Cave failed to find any glow worms, and only a few fireflies were seen during our time on the mountain.  The lack of fireflies was particularly puzzling given our recent find of multiple fireflies at Wiseman’s View.  More investigation is planned.

Weather and Moon

The weather was typical mid-summer hot and muggy with afternoon temperatures up to 90^OF and nighttime lows approximately 68^OF.  Recent heavy thunder storms had every stream and drainage flowing with water.  Although yet another storm blew past to the north just as we started our hike, we were spared any rain and enjoyed a partly cloudy sky.

The 53% Waxing Crescent moon rose about 2:30 pm and by sunset was nearly overhead.  After dark, the moon was only occasionally blocked by clouds. 

Equipment used

A tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera with an 18-55mm zoom lens was used.

 

Big Foot Found on Brown Mountain!

OK, maybe not! 

Image 4007 shows typical erosion runnels on the exposed granite at Bear Rocks. 

The 3 individual channels join down slope to form a single channel. 

Although at a vastly different scale, the runnels are somewhat reminiscent of the headwater drainages of a mountain stream, with all runoff flowing into a single channel. 

For the proper scale perspective, the small dark circular spot between the ends of the two closest runnels is a US quarter.

 

Jonas Ridge House Lights from Bear Rocks

Here the tripod-mounted camera is set atop Bear Rocks looking west-northwest toward Jonas Ridge. 

Gingercake Mountain is the high point of the skyline ridge on the left side of the image. 

Our BMLCam1 is located at one of the houses within the row of lights just to the left of center of the image. 

Careful inspection of the image shows a dim light illuminating the NC Highway 181 BML Overlook on Rip Skin Ridge to the right of the center of the image and between the two rightmost bright lights. 

Moon light reflecting off leaves on trees less than 100 feet in front of the camera can be seen in the foreground. 

The moon is located beyond the upper left corner of the image.

f/5.6, ISO-400

 

Airplane over Brown Mountain

Image 4018 is a half-minute time exposure taken from Bear Rocks of a particularly bright light from an airplane approaching high over head from the north. 

The camera is facing north and the airplane traveled from the bottom to the top of the image during the exposure. 

The stars are those in the basin of the ‘Big Dipper’ constellation. 

Apparently the plane’s landing light was on and produced the lighted flight path. 

To the naked eye, no flashing navigation lights were visible. 

However, careful inspection of the photograph clearly shows the flashing navigation lights on either side of the bright streak.

No sound was heard until the airplane was nearly overhead, at which time the typical rumble of a distant airplane was heard.

f/5.6, ISO-400

 

View Toward Linville Gorge from Bear Rocks

Image 4017 is a 2-minute time exposure looking west from Bear Rocks. 

Table Rock is the prominent flat top peak on the skyline to the left while Hawksbill Mountain is the prominent skyline peak to the right. 

Laurel Knob is the dark skyline high point near the center of the image. 

Wiseman’s View is located near the base of Laurel Knob and near the center of the image. 

Table Rock and Hawksbill are on the east rim of Linville Gorge, while Laurel Knob and Wiseman’s View are on the west rim. 

Star trails are visible in the sky above the mountains, while moon light can be seen reflecting off of leaves on trees about 100 feet in front of the camera. 

The 50% Waxing Crescent moon is just beyond the upper left corner of the image.

f/5.6, ISO-400

 

Marion, NC from Bear Rocks on Brown Mountain!

Image 4024 is a two-minute time exposure looking southwest from Bear Rocks. 

The prominent single white light above a dark peak on the skyline left of center of the image is the flashing light on a communication tower atop Mount Ida on the south side of Marion, NC. 

The measured azimuth to this light is 220 degrees, which matches the line-of-sight plotted on the appropriate USGS topographic map. 

The brighter cluster of lights in the center of the image may be from the Wal-Mart/Lowes shopping center near the junction of US Highways 70 and 221, and NC Highway 226 on the northwest side of Marion.

f/5.6, ISO-400

Lights over Brown Mountain & Catawba Valley Light Pollution---June 26, 2013

Photography from Wiseman's View June 26, 2013

City lights of Lenoir east of Brown Mountain

55 minutes after sunset

Table Rock on the east rim of Linville Gorge can be seen on the right edge of the image

Tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera w/ 18 mm lens,

f/4.5, 45 second exposure, ISO-400

 Light Pollution from Catawba Valley east of Table Rock

1 hour & 36 minutes after sunset

Collective Glow of City lights from Hickory & nearby towns reflecting off high thin clouds

Individual lights near Lenoir are visible over Brown Mountain on left side of image

Several short star trails are visible in the sky over Table Rock

Tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera w/ 25 mm lens,

f/4.5, 122 second exposure, ISO-400

 

Comparing Blue Ghost Fireflies with common yellow-blinking fireflies

This image shows a direct size comparison between adult male specimens of the smaller Blue Ghost Firefly (Phausis reticulata) and the larger more common yellow-blinking firefly (Photinus pyralis).  Both fireflies are lying on their backs, exposing their undersides.  Although not lighted in the image, the two bioluminescent tail segments on each specimen are obvious, with the pale bluish white color of the smaller Phausis reticulata and the pale yellowish color of the larger Photinus pyralis.  This image clearly shows that the BGF is less than half the size of the more common yellow-blinking firefly, while it's bioluminescent segments are only about 1/20th as large!  However, when seen in the total darkness of a moonless night deep in the forest, the continuous burn of the BGF can seem very bright and eerie indeed.

Photo by Ed Speer
Canon REBEL EOS DSLR T3i camera (f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO-800, 50 mm lens)

& AmScope binocular microscope SM-1T (7X magnification)

The smaller firefly (Phausis reticulata) has a broken antenna. 

The length measurements were taken from the far end of the antennas to the tail end of each firefly.

Fireflies from Brue Ridge Parkway

Fireflies Monday, June 17, 2013 near mile 342.1 on Blue Ridge Parkway, McDowell Co, NC.

These 3 images show two types of fireflies at the same time.  The common yellow-blinking firefly Photinus pyralis, and the rare long-burning Blue Ghost Firefly (BGF), Phausis reticulata.  These time exposures show the greenish-yellow dashed flight paths of the common firefly and the long continuous greenish flight paths of the BGF.  Click on the individual photos to see larger images.  The common firefly (Photinus pyralis) began flying first as darkness fell, followed a few minutes later by Phausis reticulata.  The brighter light of the the common firefly greatly overshadowed the dim BGF for the first hour or so until the common firefly diseminated upward leaving the BGFs more readily visible near the ground. This population of BGFs is at 3,800' elevatin and is about 25 mi SE of Brown Mountain. 

Specifically it is situations where only 1 or 2 BGFs are present at any given time in a totally dark forest that could be mistaken for mysterious Brown Mountain Lights by an uninformed or unsuspecting individual.

 

These time exposure photos were taken with a tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera with a 50 mm lens set near infinity focus, f/2.5 and ISO-6400

More Blue Ghost Firefly Images from DuPont State Forest

Several members of our BMLs Research Team viewed the BGFs again last night at DuPont State Forest in Transylvania Co., NC.  These time-exposure images were taken with a tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera with a 50 mm lens set at near-infinity focus.

Blue Ghost Fireflies (Phausis reticulata)

DuPont Forest State Park, NC

 

43 second time exposure

60 second time exposure

70 second time exposure

60 second time exposure

 

Clicking on an individual image brings up a larger and more readily visible version of that image.  The male BGFs fly near the ground with their bioluminescent light continuously burning for several seconds to several minutes while searching for the females that live in the leaf litters on the forest floor.  The long flight paths seen in the images show that individual flight distances can be 100 feet or more.  To the human eye, the faint light appers white or bluish white, while the camera detects it as greenish white lights.

 

Sightings of Blue Ghost Fireflies by uninformed and unsuspecting individuals may explain a few reported mystery light close encounters with suspected Brown Mountain Lights.  While the existence of BGFs haven't yet been confirmed on Brown Mountain itself, they have been seen on North Harper Creek (Ed Speer, 2006, personal communication), only 5.5 miles north of the mountain.

Can Fireflies explain the Brown Mountain Lights?

Can fireflies explain the BMLs?

Of course not, at least not the majority of the reported light sightings.  But now that I have your attention, I'd like to introduce you to the Blue Ghost Firefly (BGF)----Phausis reticulata, which I suspect has fooled some people in the past. 

 

Blue Ghost Fireflies (Phausis reticulata)

DuPont State Forest, Transylvania Co., NC

This 62-second time exposure of the rare and little-known BGF shows a hatch of males flying between trees and brush in search of females which don't fly, but instead live on the forest floor.  Unlike the quick blinking of the common yellow firefly, the male BGF stays lighted for several seconds to several minutes while flying about 2 feet off the ground for horizontal distances up to 100 feet or more.  To the human eye, the BGFs burn with a pale bluish white light---however, the camera records a pale lime green color which appears to be the true color.

 Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/2.5, 62 second exposure, ISO 6400, 50 mm lens

 

When seen for the first time by an uninformed or unsespecting person, the BGFs certainly can be mysterious and eerie.  Especially when encountered on a dark night in unfamiliar woods, the BGFs can be misintrepreted as sightings of distant bright lights rather than close encounters with a pale-light bioluminescent flying beetle. 

 

 

Phausis reticulata (Blue Ghost Firefly)

male on left, female on right

 

The most definitive research on the BGF is presented by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert & Joshua Rosen (2008) and can be found online at: http://www2.brevard.edu/jefrick/Blue%20Ghost%20pub.pdfhttp://www2.brevard.edu/jefrick/Blue%20Ghost%20pub.pdf

 

In the published literature of the Brown Mountain Lights, several light encounters may be consistant with the BGF.  Specifically, the 1916 account of H.C. Martin and Dr. L.H. Coffey (Pearson, 1916), the 1962 account of P. Rose (Charlotte Observer & Winston-Salem Journal, August 3, 1962), and the 1962 alien-abduction account of R. Lael (Lael, 1965).

 

While the BGFs don't explain the vast majority of BML distant light sightings (afterall, the BGFs can't be seen more than about 100 feet away), they may explain a small portion of some close-encounters with mystery lights.

 

Video from BMLCam1 May 14/15, 2013

Dan Caton, Professor and Director of Observatories, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC has just uploaded a video from our up-graded BMLCam1 located on Jonas Ridge, NC and overlooking Brown Mountain.

YouTube video of May 14/15, 2013 BMLCam1

The 4 minute video is composed of 8 hours worth of 30-second time exposure still shots over the night of May 14 & 15, 2013.  BMLCam1 is owned, maintained and operated by Professor Caton for Appalachian State University.

The video clearly shows vehicle headlights on NC Highway 181 at the Brown Mountain Lights overlook, stars in the night sky, airplanes, flashing communication tower lights, and miscellaneous stationary electric lights in the valleys beyond Brown Mountain.  While no unexplained lights are visible in the video, the plan is to run the camera as often as possible to look for unexplained lights or light phenomena.  Additional telephoto lens upgrades are planned.

Wiseman's View 25Apr13

Last night's full moon rising above Table Rock Mountain was photographed.  In addition, distant city lights and other landmarks in the Catawba River Valley east of Brown Mountain were also photographed.

Full Moon Rising over Table Rock Mountain

Sunset was 8:04 pm

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/3.5, 1/30 second, ISO-400

 

Full Moon and City Lights from Wiseman's View

Brown Mountain is the flat-topped mountain in the middle of the image.  The dark foreground ridge is the east rim of Linville Gorge with the north slope of Table Rock Mtn to the right and the south slope of Hawksbill Mtn to the left.  City lights of Lenoir and the surrounding area are visible between Brown Mountain and the distant horizon.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/3.5, 1/30 second, ISO-400

 

 

Landmarks Visible Looking East from Wiseman's View

The Google Data Center south of Lenoir (21 miles away) can be seen

just above the second "a" in the word Data.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/18, 1/200 second, ISO-400

 

Landmarks Visible Looking East from Wiseman's View

The Google Data Center (21 miles away) and numerous other buildings

in the Lenoir/Gamewell/Hudson area are visible is this late afternoon image.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/14, 1/200 second, ISO-400

 

Landmarks Visible Looking East from Wiseman's View

The Google Data Center (21 miles away), numerous other buildings, and

Hibriten Mtn (24 miles away) are visible in the Lenoir area in this late afternoon image.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/8, 1/400 second, ISO-250

Telephoto Photography 17Apr13

Between rain showers this morning, I was able to get some spectacular photos from the location of our BMLCam1 on Jonas Ridge, NC.  Both natural and manmade landmarks are readily identifiable.

View looking east showing Brown, Adams, & Hibriten Mountains

Brown Mountain (7 mi away) is the long flat topped ridge in the middle of the image, Adams Mountain (8.8 mi away) is the small domal shaped peak just to the left of Brown Mountain, & Hibriten Mountain (22.5 mi away) is the domal shaped peak on the skyline almost directly above & beyond Adams.  Ripskin Ridge is the dark tree-covered ridge in the foreground.  NC Highway 181, including the Brown Mountain Overlook (seen just to the left of center of the image, 2.1 mi away), follows the backbone of Ripskin Ridge.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/10, 1/250 second, ISO-100

 

Telephoto view of Brown, Adams, & Hibriten Mountains

The left sloping north end of Brown Mountain (7 mi away) is visible in the center of the image, with Adams Mountain (8.8 mi away) immediately behind & to the left of Brown Mountain.  Barely-visible communication towers atop Hibriten Mountain (22.5 mi away) are visible in the distance.  The flat tree covered Little Chestnut Ridge with Forest Service Road 4099 can be seen in the foreground.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/13, 1/800 second, ISO-800

 

View looking east with Brown, Adams, & Hibriten Mountains

A tractor-trailer truck can be seen parked at the Brown Mountain Overlook on NC Highway 181 (2.1 mi away) in the lower left corner of the image.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/7.1, 1/250 second, ISO-100

 

Communication towers atop Hibriten Mountain (22.5 mi away)

The tall tower on the left is lighted with a flashing white light both day & night.  Compare with night time images previously posted on this blog.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera mounted on MEADE EXT-125EC 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, f/15, 1/60 second, ISO-250

 

Communication towers atop High Peak (22 mi away)

The tall tower on the left is lighted with a flashing white light both day & night. Compare with night time images previously posted on this blog.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera mounted on MEADE EXT-125EC 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, f/15, 1/60 second, ISO-200

 

Municipal Water Tower in the Valdese-Drexel area (~22 mi away)

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera mounted on MEADE EXT-125EC 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, f/15, 1/60 second, ISO-400

 

Brown Mountain Overlook on NC Highway 181 (2.1 mi away)

A passengar car, 3 display signs,  & a trash can are visible in the center of the image, while the guard rail along Highway 181 can be seen stretching completely across the image.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera mounted on MEADE EXT-125EC 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, f/15, 1/60 second, ISO-640

 

 

Today's photographs clearly show easily identifiable mountain peaks, communication towers, a water tower and the Brown Mountain Overlook on NC Highway 181.  These telephoto- and telescope-assisted images taken from the site of our BMLCam1 on Jonas Ridge conclusivelly demonstrate the sources of some of the man-made lights visible at night from this observation site.  Comparing these images with some of the night time images previously poseted on this blog shows a clear connection.

March 23, 2013 Observation

On Saturday evening, March 23, 2013, Charles Braswell & I met Mike Fischesser and about 15 of his TASSC kids for an hour of observations from the back deck of a Kistler Highway (NC 105) house, which looks up Linville Gorge from near the mouth of the gorge (see attached image).  The Kistler Highway house has been chosen as the location for our next full-time BML Camera (BMLCam2)---to be installed soon.

Linville Gorge from Kistler Highway (NC 105) Home Site

Looking North with prominent Shortoff Mtn on the right

Canon EOS REBEL T3i Digital SLR Camera, 18 mm, f/3.5, 1/5 sec

March 23, 2013  8:05 pm

Binoculars, spot lights, a Canon REBEL EOS digital camera and a tripod-mounted Canon VIXIA HFG20 nighttime digital video camera were employed.  During the observation, a single white light was periodically seen slowly moving upward on Shortoff Mtn, eventually stopping near the top, and moments later was joined by an orange light, which was then observed at the same location until we ended our observation about 45 minutes later.  We interpret the white light to be that of a solo hiker ascending the Mountain-To-Sea Trail on the south flank of the mountain to the popular backcountry campsite on the summit, at which point the hiker started a campfire (the orange light).  These were the only lights we saw in or near Linville Gorge last night.  The weather was high cloud cover and fair with only a gentle wind.  Smoke from the Kistler Highway house 
fireplace/woodstove occasionally drifted between us & the gorge, providing some strong, well-developed light beams from our handheld spotlights (coon-hunting type spot lights).  At times the beams appeared to streak nearly all the way to Shortoff Mtn from the house.  The video will be made available later.

Additional nighttime video observation is also planned from the Kistler Highway house---we expect some great photography from this excellent observation site.  We hope to also conduct our own staged light tests on the Mountain-To-Sea Trail, as well as the Wolf Pit Trail, to the summit of Shortoff Mtn---also Pinnacle, Hawksbill, & Gingercake Mtns, as well as overlooks along the Kistler Highway.