Huge cylinder
A huge cylinder and an odd cloud moved along with nocturnal lights, low on the horizon. The phenomenon was described by “the Worshipful Charles Kirkham, Esq.” as “a long dark Cloud of a Cylindrical Figure which lay horizontally, and seemed to divide the Brightness into two almost Equal Parts. It had little or no motion, tho’ the Wind blow’d brisk. But on a sudden there appear’d a swelling Brightness in that Cylindric Cloud, which broke out into Flames of a pale-coloured Fire.”
The flames lasted less than half a minute, with “the Cloud from whence they proceeded still keeping its first Position, and not diminish’d. It was wonderfully frightful and amazing.”
Source: Rev. John Morton, Natural History of Northamptonshire (1712), 349-350.
318.
11 May 1710, London, England: Man in a flying object
At 2:00 A.M. multiple witnesses saw “a strange comet” which seemed to be carried along with two black clouds. “After which,” according to the report, “follow’d the likeness of a Man in a Cloud of Fire, with a Sword in his Hand, which mov’d with the Clouds as the other did, but they saw it for near a quarter of an Hour together, to their very great surprise…” The scene was depicted in a woodcut.
Fig. 29: Sighting by nightwatchmen in London
Source: The Age of Wonders: or farther and particular Discriptton[sic] of the remarkable, and Fiery Appartion[sic] that was seen in the Air, on Thursday in the Morning, being May the 11th 1710. also the Figure of a Man in the Clouds with a drawn Sword; which pass’d from the North West over toward France, with reasonable Signification thereon; and the Names of several Inhabitants in and about the City of London, that saw the same, and are ready to Attest it. Also an Account of several Comets that have appear’d formerly in England, and what has happen’d in those Years (London: J. Read, 1710?). [British Library, 1104.a.24]
319.
2 April 1716, Tallin, Baltic Sea: Clouds fighting
Two large dark clouds engaged in combat, and many smaller fast clouds.
The phenomenon was observed over the Baltic Sea, near Revel (modern Tallinn). The reports come from various official documents and ship logbooks. It was the second day of Easter, at around 9:00 P.M., when a dense or black cloud appeared in the sky. Its base was wide but its top was pointed, and it seemed to travel upwards quickly, “so that in less than three minutes its angle of elevation reached half of a right angle.” As the cloud appeared “there manifested in the WNW direction an enormous shining comet that ascended up to about 12 degrees above the horizon.” At this moment, a second dark cloud rose from the north, approaching the first one: “There formed between these two clouds, from the north-eastern side, a bright light in the shape of a column that for a few minutes did not change its position…”
One version states that this column of light remained still for around ten minutes. Then the second cloud moved very quickly through the column, “and hit the other cloud that was moving from the east.” The collision produced “great fire and smoke” for about fifteen minutes, “after which it began to gradually fade and ended with the appearance of a multitude of bright arrows reaching an [angular] altitude of 80 degrees above the horizon.”
Source: M. B. Gershtein, “A Thousand Years of Russian UFOs,” RIAP Bulletin (Ukraine) 7, 4, October-December 2001. The two accounts provided here were made by Baron de Bie, the ambassador of the Netherlands, and Russian Commander N. A. Senyavin.
320.
6 March 1717, at sea southwest of Martinique
Hovering object
A solid object like a mast hovers two feet above the water. In his log Chevalier de Ricouart, captain of the frigate La Valeur, noted: “At two in the morning we were making some progress in a southeast direction. We saw something like the mast of a ship pass alongside, standing up about two feet above the water.”
Source: Michel Bougard, La chronique des OVNI (Paris: Delarge, 1977), 104.
321.
19 March 1719, Oxford, England: A physicist puzzled
Very bright, whitish and blue object moving from the west in a straight line at 8:15 P.M., much slower than a meteor. Multiple witnesses all over England, including the Vice-President of the Royal Society, physicist Sir H. Sloane, who saw it travel over 20 degrees in “less than half a minute.” Although listed as a meteor, the slow speed is most curious.
Source: Sir Edmund Halley, “An Account of the Extraordinary Meteor Seen All Over England,” Philosophical transactions of the Royal society of London 30 (1720): 978-990.
322.
16 January 1721, Bern, Switzerland
Three globes emerge from a pillar of fire
At night, there “was perceived a great Pillar of Fire standing over the Mountains, near that City, to the Westward of its Fortifications, which advancing by little and little toward the City, burst at length, without making any great Noise, and then three Globes of Fire was seen to Issue out of it, which took each of them a different Way, and at length disappeared.”
Source: Anon., An account of terrible apparitions and prodigies which hath been seen both upon Earth and Sea, in the end of Last, and beginning of this present Year, 1721 (Glasgow: Thomas Crawford, 1721), 5-7.
Fig. 30: Prodigies in Bern
323.
29 October 1726, Vilvoorde, Brabant, Belgium
Terrifying objects
About nine o’clock at night and for two consecutive hours were seen in the sky “horrible and strange meteors” that came among the clouds like lightning and disappeared in the same way. Their aspect was most terrifying.
In the absence of a more complete description, we cannot exclude the notion that witnesses may have observed an aurora borealis.
Source: J. Nauwelaers, Histoire de la Ville de Vilvorde, vol. 2 (Paris, 1941).
324.
1729, Finis Terrae Cape, Galicia, Spain
Strangers from the sky
A local story claims that three men came out of a cloud, had a meal at the market, took off and flew south.
Source: Benito Jeronimo Feijoo, Teatro crítico universal (1726-1740), Volume Three (1729). Text from the Madrid edition of 1777, 86-87.
325.
1 October 1729, Noes, Uppland, Sweden: Fiery globe
Two hours prior to sunrise, M. Suen-Hof saw red vapors in the sky, which stretched in wide bands from north to south, then proceeded to gather together into a fiery globe about two feet in diameter. The globe kept moving in the same direction where the reddish vapors had appeared. It emitted sparks and was as bright as the sun. After moving through a quarter of the sky it disappeared abruptly, leaving thick black smoke and a burst of sound similar to cannon shot.
Source: Sestier, La Foudre et ses formes, T.I., 222. Cited by Camille Flammarion, Bolides Inexpliqués par leur aspect bizarre et la lenteur de leur parcours–Bradytes, in Etudes et Lectures sur l’Astronomie (Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1874), T.5, 143.
326.
2 November 1730, Salamanca, Spain
Globe of fire with beams
Torres himself was a witness to the incident. He wrote that at 11:30 P.M. he saw, from Salamanca, “an amazing Globe of fire,” as large as a building. On each side of the globe were two luminous beams or columns which seemed to rise and fall, “becoming brighter as they moved.” The columns changed from green to red and the light from the phenomenon illuminated the surrounding area. At two o’clock in the morning the columns joined together but the spectacle did not disappear until 4:30 A.M.
Though often cited as a UFO, many consider the event to have been an aurora borealis.
Source: Diego de Torres Villaroel, Juicio, i Prognostico del Globo, i Tres Columnas de Fuego (Madrid: Manuel Caballero, 1730).
327.
9 December 1731, Florence, Italy
Unexplained luminous “cloud”
“A luminous cloud was seen, driven with some violence from east to west, where it disappeared below the horizon.” A contemporary author named Bianchini speaks of several strang
e luminous spheres making a whirring sound.
Source: Robert Mallet, “Catalogue of recorded earthquakes from 1606 BC to AD 1850,” Annual Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1852), and “Third Report on the facts of earthquake phenomena,” id., 1853 and 1854.
328.
17 March 1735, London, England: Unexplained light
Dr. John Bevis observed an unknown light in the sky. It remained stationary for one hour.
Source: John Bevis, MD. “An Account of a Luminous Appearance in the Sky, seen at London…” Philosophical Transactions (1739-1741), 41: 347-349.
329.
5 December 1737, Sheffield, England
Beams of hot light from a luminous body
At about 5 P.M. a peculiar phenomenon was seen. The witness (astronomer Thomas Short) described it as “a dark red cloud that made its appearance, with a luminous body underneath that sent out very brilliant beams of light.”
It did not look anything like aurora borealis, because the light beams were moving slowly for some time, then stopped. Suddenly the air was so hot that he had to take off his shirt, although he was outside.
Source: Thomas Short, “An Account of Several Meteors, Communicated in a Letter from Thomas Short, MD to the President,” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), 41 (1739-1741): 625-630.
330.
6 December 1737, Bucharest, Romania: Red intruder
In the afternoon, an object only described as a “Symbolic form,” blood-red in color, appeared from the west. After remaining in the sky for two hours it split into two parts that shortly joined again and went back towards the west.
Source: Ion Hobana and Julien Weverbergh, Les Ovni en URSS et dans les Pays de l’Est (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1972), 287-288, citing Biblioteca Academiei Române, BAR ms. rom. 2342, fol. 3-4.
331.
23 February 1740, Toulon, France
Rising purple globe plunges, releases balls of fire
During the night of 23 to 24 February people saw a purple “globe of fire” that rose gradually, and then appeared to plunge into the sea, where it rebounded. Reaching a certain height, it blew up and spread several balls of fire over the sea and the mountains. It made a sound like that of a violent thunderclap or a bomb as it burst. The witnesses reported the event to the Marquis de Caumont.
Source: Histoire de l’Académie des Sciences, 1740.
332.
23 October 1740, England
Unknown planetoid orbiting Venus
Astronomer and mathematician James Short, one of the most prolific telescope makers of the 18th century, reported his observation of what he thought was a satellite of Venus (later called “Neith” by Hozeau). The heliocentric longitude of Venus was 68° and its elongation 46°.
Source: “The Problematical Satellite of Venus,” in The Observatory 7 (1884): 222-226.
333.
16 December 1743, London, England
Slow, waving ‘rocket’
A correspondent of the Royal Society reports on an unusual sighting in these terms:
“As I was returning home from the Royal Society to Westminster, (at) 8h 40m, being about the Middle of the Parade in St. James Park, I saw a Light arise from behind the Trees and Houses in the S. by W. point, which I took at first for a large Sky-Rocket; but when it had risen to the Height of about 20 Degrees, it took a motion nearly parallel to the Horizon, but waved in this manner, and went on to the N. by E. Point over the Houses.
“It seemed to be so very near, that I thought it passed over Queen’s Square, the Island in the Park, cross the Canal, and I lost Sight of it over the Haymarket. Its Motion was so very slow, that I had it above half a Minute in View; and therefore had Time enough to contemplate its Appearance fully, which was what is seen in the annexed Figure.”
“A seemed to be a light Flame, turning backwards from the Resistance the Air made to it. BB a bright Fire like burning Charcoal, enclosed as it were in a open Case, of which the Frame CCC was quite opaque, like Bands of Iron. At D issued forth a Train or Tail of light Flame, more bright at D, and growing gradually fainter at E, so as to be transparent more than half its Length. The Head seemed about half a Degree in Diameter, the Tail near 3 Degrees in Length, and about one Eighth of a Degree in Thickness.”
Note: Given such a precise observer, it is difficult to call this phenomenon an ordinary meteor.
Fig. 31: “Waving rocket” in London
‘Slow’ meteors are known to exist but they are poorly explained: Camille Flammarion called them bradytes but he acknowledged they were extremely rare. If this happened today we would suspect a satellite re-entry, but there was no such thing in 1743.
Source: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 43 (1745): 524.
334.
23 June 1744, Knott, Scotland: Armed men in the sky
Twenty-six witnesses, including a judge, observed a troop of armed men in the sky above a hill: “A man named D. Stricket, then servant to Mr. Lancaster, of Blakehills, saw, one evening about 7 o’clock, a troop of horses riding leisurely along Souter Fell in Cumberland.”
After he called his master, “Mr. Lancaster discovered the aerial troopers,” who became visible near a place called Knott. They were in sight for two hours and “this phenomenon was seen by every person (twenty-six in number) in every cottage within the distance of a mile.”
Source: Statement attested before a magistrate by Lancaster and Stricket on the 21st of July, 1745. See “Phantom Armies” in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Sentinel, November 1, 1871 citing A Folio of Apparitions and Wonders, preserved in the British Museum; also, Arminian Magazine, consisting chiefly of extracts and original treatises on universal redemption 18 (May, 1795): 244-245.
335.
14 July 1745, London, England: Flying trumpet
Reverend George Costard reported seeing an object shaped like a trumpet, flying over Stanlake Broad about 8 P.M.
Source: “Part of a Letter from The Rev. Mr. Geo. Costard to Mr. John Catlin, concerning a Fiery Meteor seen in the Air…” Philosophical Transactions 43 (1744-1745): 522-524.
336.
5 August 1748, Aberdeen, Scotland
Three globes of light
Eleven witnesses swore before the city council of Aberdeen they had observed three globes of light, men and armies in the sky, at 2 P.M. in a valley located five miles west of the city. They first assumed the three globes of light were meteorological in nature, but their intensity increased, and twelve tall men then appeared, dressed in bright clothes. They walked across the valley, followed by two armies that appeared to re-enact the battle of Culloden, near Inverness, which had taken place on 16 April 1746.
In cases of “armies in the sky” and heavenly battles we generally suspect an aurora, but the timing of this sighting (early afternoon) excludes this interpretation.
Source: Flying Saucer Review 32, vol. 17, no. 6 (1971), citing a letter by Roger Sandell, in Culloden by John Prebble (chapter 7). Another letter dated September 5, 1748, relates this story and mentions the “three globes of light”. This source, signed R. F. (Robert Forbes), cites an extract from an older letter dated August 20, 1748, in which “a gentleman of Aberdeen” writes to his correspondent in Edinburgh about the visionary battle that took place on August 5, 1748. See The Lyon in mourning, a collection of speeches, letters, journals, etc. relative to the affairs of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, by the Rev. Robert Forbes, A.M., Bishop of Ross and Caithness, 1746-1775. Edited from his Manuscript by Henry Paton, vol. II (Edinburgh: Scottish History Society, 1895), 181-182.
337.
1752, Kazan, Russia: Abducted in a flying cauldron
A man named “Yashka” reportedly met a stranger dressed in white who took him to a flying cauldron. He believed he visited another world, and then returned to the Earth.
Source: Vadim Chernobrov, Synodic Archives (Kazan University, 1909), No. 635:135, V.XXV.
338.
15 April 1752, Stavanger, Norway
: Flying octagon
“An octagonal luminosity in the sky emitted fireballs from its angles.”
Source: Alexis Perey, Sur les tremblements de terre de la péninsule scandinave (Paris, 1842), 17. Perey draws from La Gazette, June 10th, 1752.
339.
1 June 1752, Angermannland, Sweden
Bright streak emits balls of light
Between 4 and 5 A.M., luminous “balls of fire” emerged from a bright streak in the sky extending from the northeast to the southwest, for 12 to 13 miles along the coast.
Source: Robert Mallet and John William Mallet, The Earthquake Catalogue of the British Association (British Association for the Advancement of Science, London: Taylor & Francis, 1858).
340.
15 August 1754, Amsterdam and Chiswick, England
Sphere at ground level
After sunset a strange sphere, with an apparent diameter equal to that of the full moon, was observed shooting blinding bright beams, and descending close to ground level.
Source: The Gentleman’s Magazine 25 (1755): 461-462.
341.
29 December 1758, Colchester, Essex, England
Wandering oval object
At 8.00 P.M., an object described by contemporary eyewitnesses as looking like a huge football seemed to descend from the sky. It then “vanished like a squib without a report.”
Source: London Magazine 27 (1758): 685.
342.
20 May 1759, unknown location
Unexplained satellite of Venus
Astronomer Andreas Mayer reported an observation of a planetoid object seemingly orbiting Venus.
Source: Mayer’s observation first appeared as a very brief footnote in his book, Observationes veneris gryphiswaldenses (1762), 16-17. The full report was first published by Johann-Heinrich Lambert in 1776 in Astronomisches Jahrbuch oder Ephemeriden für das Jahr 1778 (Berlin, 1776), 186.
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