Things to do while in Marfa, TX

I was born and raised in Houston, went to UT Austin, have visited over 30 states in the US, but have yet to go west of San Antonio (in Texas).

 

This is the most likely explanation:

Some contend that the lights are the result of a naturally occurring phenomenon, the piezoelectric effect, discovered by Pierre Curie in 1883. In this case, critics contend that the mountainous region is made up of mostly rocks containing quartz that expand during the day and contract at night, due to thermal expansion. This expansion and contraction creates stress on the quartz crystals which in turn is converted into voltage that is accumulated over time until it is then discharged into the atmosphere creating a ball lightning effect.

There are a handful of these occurrences around the world. We have the Brown Mountain lights where I live. They are most prevalent in the late fall and during and right after rain falls. Its speculated the run off creates friction on the quartz and releases plasma balls.