Webcam Watch: Looking for the Brown Mountain Lights

By Frank Ruggiero

ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com

Native American spirits? Ball lightning? Sports utility vehicles?

Maybe a combination of the three.

Dr. Dan Caton doubts the Brown Mountain Lights are supernatural in nature, but believes nature plays a prevalent role in the legendary mystery. With use of a Web cam and governmental cooperation, he intends to find out how.

Caton, professor of astronomy at Appalachian State University and director of the Dark Sky Observatory, has been featured in television specials and numerous newspaper articles about the lights, and has gained the status of what he calls a “skeptical talking head.”

He added that he will remain skeptical on the matter until he finds an answer. Caton has visited the viewing overlooks above the Linville Gorge, in which the lights are said to have been seen near Brown Mountain, and has yet to see anything he couldn’t attribute to nature or man.

Those who claim to have seen the lights describe them as star-like, moving erratically through the woods. Legend says the lights are the ghosts of slain Cherokee and Catawba warriors.

Caton has seen lights in the woods and has heard countless reports of alleged sightings, and he attributes those to vehicles, manmade lights and other commonly mistakable light sources.

“We still haven’t seen them,” he said. “And that has to raise the question, ‘Why do people say they see them out there, when we expert observers have not?’ People see something, but not the Brown Mountain Lights. It could be campers on Table Rock, folks by the river and even, yes, the lights of Lenoir.”

As a scientist, Caton says there is a natural explanation. A majority of time dedicated towards investigation, though, is spent in the car on the two-hour trip from Boone to Wiseman’s View. Since so much time was spent on fruitless outings, Caton’s interest began to dwindle, until he received informative feedback about a column he’d written for the Associated Press.

“People were seeing very interesting lights,” he said. “These were close encounters only a few feet away — not something you’d see on the ridge.”

The first thing that came to mind was ball lightning — a natural phenomenon said to be a basketball-sized, free-floating spheroid of glowing gas or light. Caton’s interest was again sparked.

The ball lightning theory could hold water, as Caton said, “There’s some degree of anecdotal evidence in the same type of environment.”

And that could lead to other questions, like how does ball lightning develop and why in the gorge? “We can’t make that in the lab,” Caton said. “There are people trying to, but they’ve not been successful.”

He has visited Wiseman’s View since, but to keep a steadier eye on the gorge, and without all the mileage, Caton has proposed to establish a Web cam in the area, most likely at the popular overlook. The camera would stream live footage to a Web site, letting anyone investigate from the comfort of their own swivel chairs.

A few years ago, the project garnered the support of Appalachian State, though Caton said the United States Forest Service was not originally keen on the idea. A matter of months ago, though, Caton received a call from a forest ranger, who said she was interested in the project.

“Since the land they’re watching is monitored by the forest service, we’d certainly be interested in seeing if there’s anything physically unique in the area that’s resulted from the phenomenon,” said Mary Noel, land staff officer for national forests in North Carolina with the U.S. Forest Service.

A few weeks ago, Caton met with forest service officials on site to consider locations for the Web cam. “It’s challenging because it’s on the edge of a wilderness area, and we don’t want to disturb the view,” he said. “We’re sensitive to that, and so is the forest service.”

The Web cam would require a 30 to 40 foot tower to protect it from vandals, and it would also need a power source. Caton said solar panels from the university are his number one choice, though he’d like to first determine whether or not the reflection of the panels would detract from the natural viewscape. Another idea is a small wind turbine, which he said could be furnished for less than $1,000.

However, the camera would not only have to see the gorge, but also civilization, so it can stream the data to a computer. With a two-foot antenna, Caton said wireless Internet reception could stretch for 25 miles, and, “We have the equipment.”

He’s considering asking business acquaintances in Lenoir if they’d be willing to accommodate an antenna and dish on their building, and he’s also hoping to speak with the cable or telephone company to help with a broadband connection.

“So, if we could get all this going, we don’t have to drive out there,” Caton said. “We could sit back and remotely view.”

Caton guessed he and his colleagues wouldn’t even have to always view it, as there would be plenty of people throughout the nation and world watching and willing to report any sightings of any light out there. Though a lot of sightings could easily be dismissed as manmade light, Caton’s eyes are peeled for any instance of ball lightning, which he finds equally mysterious. Any such data would be extensively analyzed, but the first step remains the same — see the lights.

Though the university is prepared to conduct scientific measurements, Caton must first determine when to look to define the “hunting hours,” so to speak. He’ll continue to visit the area this summer, mostly after thunderstorms, the time when ball lightning experts say the phenomenon is most prevalent.

This will help pass the time as the forest service reviews his application for a special use permit to place the Web cam on federal land. Noel said the forest service would study the environmental impact of the project and the Web cam’s associated needs, such as energy. The process could take a few months, she said.

Caton and Noel share something in common — they’ve never seen the lights, and both look forward to seeing results.

“When I see them, I’ll either immediately know what they are or say, ‘I don’t know,’” Caton said.

For more information, visit www.brownmountainlights.org on the Web.