Wonders in the Sky (57 page)

 

Source: Takao Ikeda,
Nihon nu ufo
(Tokyo: Tairiku shobo, 1974).

317.

18 December 1707, Southern coast of England
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.