People have watched lights over Mitchell Flat for generations: by local tradition since the 1880s, and in print since 1945. Some of what they saw has never been explained, including an experience of the author's own. This project isn't here to explain those experiences away. It removes the noise that anyone can see, such as headlights, trains, towers and towns, so that the experiences left over can be looked at carefully and taken seriously.
Respect the storiesRanch families, travellers and visitors have described these lights for generations. Their accounts are part of the record, and the history page keeps them that way.
Remove what we canEvery catalogued public light source in the view is mapped, with how often it appears. See the map and the science.
Record what remainsCareful, independent reports are how an unexplained light becomes evidence. Report a sighting.
Under one of the darkest skies in North America
The dark-sky country around Marfa
The Viewing Area sits inside the Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve. The dark skies that make the Milky Way so vivid here also let a single car 30 km away shine like a bright star. That is why a careful map of every light matters so much in this place.
Since 2022 · over 15,000 sq mi
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress. Public domain.
Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve
When it was certified in spring 2022, it became the largest certified Dark Sky Place in the world. It spans Brewster, Jeff Davis, Presidio and Reeves counties and crosses into Mexico. Its core areas are McDonald Observatory and the Nature Conservancy's Davis Mountains Preserve. The reserve reports that every community and county within it has adopted an outdoor lighting ordinance.1,2
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress. Public domain.
McDonald Observatory
The University of Texas observatory runs public star parties: an open-air constellation tour with telescope views. They often sell out, so book ahead. Its Dark Skies Initiative monitors light pollution in Far West Texas and advises property owners and businesses on night-sky friendly lighting.3,4
Photo: National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. Public domain.
Big Bend National Park
The National Park Service describes Big Bend as having the least light pollution of any park unit in the lower 48 states. On a clear night you can see about 2,000 stars there, against a few hundred in a mid-sized city.5,6
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress. Public domain.
Big Bend Ranch State Park and the Chinati Mountains
Big Bend Ranch State Park became an International Dark Sky Park in late 2017. In 2020 the Chinati Mountains State Natural Area joined that designation. Together they protect about 355,000 acres of dark sky. The Chinati Mountains form the far skyline you see from the Viewing Area. When the 2020 designation was announced, the natural area was not yet open to the public.7
Marfa's courthouse square hosts the Marfa Lights Festival each Labor Day weekend. Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress. Public domain.
Marfa
A town that lives with its lights
The Marfa Lights belong to Marfa. The Marfa Visitor Center points visitors to the official Viewing Area, 9 miles east of town on US-90 toward Alpine.8 Each Labor Day weekend the Marfa Chamber of Commerce holds the Marfa Lights Festival around the Presidio County Courthouse. The 38th festival ran from 29 to 31 August 2025.9
If you come to watch, spend your days in town too. Eat locally, visit the Visitor Center, and leave the town and the ranches as you found them.
Being a good neighbour at the Viewing Area
Stay on public ground. Mitchell Flat and the land around the Viewing Area are private working ranches. Never cross fences or go looking for the lights on foot or by car.
Keep it dark. Switch off headlights once parked. Use red light only; this site has a red night-vision mode. Keep phone screens dim. Other people are dark-adapting too.
Don't stop on the highway. Pull fully into the Viewing Area. US-90 is a fast road at night.
Be kind to other watchers. Talk quietly. Ask before shining anything toward someone's camera.
Write it down before you talk about it. Comparing notes too early makes people's memories converge, and then two witnesses count as one. Record your own account first.10
If you live or stay here: light kindly
Every unshielded yard light on the flat is a new light for observers to rule out, and a little less of the sky for everyone. DarkSky International's five principles for outdoor lighting:11
UsefulUse light only if it is needed.
TargetedDirect light only where it is needed.
Low levelNo brighter than necessary.
ControlledUse light only when it is needed.
Warm-colouredUse warmer colours where possible.
McDonald Observatory's Dark Skies Initiative advises property owners in the region on night-sky friendly lighting.4
Everyone at the platform shares the same night. Photo: Jon Hanson, 9 May 2009, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped.
Share what you see
Report a sighting
If you see a light you can't explain, a careful report is the most valuable thing you can give the investigation. The report form walks you through what to note: time, direction, height against the skyline, colour, motion and conditions. It checks your light against every known source, so you can see straight away whether it falls where ordinary lights are expected. Your report stays on your device until you choose to send it.
National Park Service, “Lightscape / Night Sky,” Big Bend National Park. nps.gov
DarkSky International, “Big Bend National Park” (Dark Sky Park, 2012). darksky.org
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, “Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Joins Big Bend Ranch State Park's Dark Sky Park Designation,” news release, 25 June 2020. tpwd.texas.gov
“The Marfa Lights Festival shines a light on Labor Day weekend,” Big Bend Sentinel, 26 August 2025. bigbendsentinel.com
F. Gabbert, A. Memon, K. Allan, “Memory conformity: can eyewitnesses influence each other's memories for an event?” Applied Cognitive Psychology 17, 533–543 (2003). doi:10.1002/acp.885
DarkSky International, “Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting.” darksky.org
“Center for Big Bend Studies,” Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association. tshaonline.org
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