Wonders in the Sky (88 page)

133 BC, Amiterno, 70 Roman miles NE of Rome, Italy
Sun at night

This case is not to be confused with the sighting at Amiterno in 218 BC mentioned in our Chronology.

The literature of the UFO field often quotes this later event, with the mention that “Under the consulate of Africanus and Fabius, the sun was seen shining at midnight.” In reality this object probably was a comet, as recorded by Lucius Annaeus Seneca and Marcus Junianus Justinus in their books. According to Seneca, during the reign of Attalus III, King of Pergamum, “a comet appeared, of moderate size at first. Then it rose up and spread out and went all the way to the equator, so that its vast extent equaled the region of the sky which is called the Milky Way” (
Quaestiones Naturales
).

Justinus noted that at the birth of Mithradates VI Eupator “a comet burned so brightly for 70 days that the entire sky seemed to be on fire. In its greatness it filled a quarter of the heavens, and with its brilliance it outshone the sun, while its rising and setting each took a period of four hours.” (Historiae Philippicae). While there is no proof both writers were referring to the same event, the reign of Attalus III has been dated from 137 to 132 BC, while Mithradates VI Eupator was born between 133 and 131 BC. The descriptions do seem to coincide. Furthermore, a Chinese document, the
Han shu
, records that a spectacular comet was seen between August and September 134 BC lasting 30 days, while the twelfth century text,
T'ung kien kang mu
, notes the reign changed due to a comet seen in 133 BC.

85 BC, Roman Empire: Burning shield

“In the consulship of Lucius Valerius and Gaius Marius a burning shield scattering sparks ran across the sky at sunset from west to east.” (Pliny:
Natural History
Book II, Chapter XXXIV.)

The description matches the behavior of an ordinary meteor. There is also a date problem with this item. The consulship in 85 BC was held by Cornelius Cinna III and Papirius Carbo I, not the people mentioned. The only consulship held by two people named as in Pliny's claim, C. Marius VI and L. Valerius Flaccus, was in 100 BC. Several sources were checked, including
Who's Who in the Roman World
by John Hazel (Routledge UK, 2002, 110). Valerius did, however, become a suffect consul in 86 BC, which may be the source of the error.

72 BC, Phrygia, near Otryae, Turkey
A falling meteorite stops a battle

At the time of the war between Lucullus and Mithridates, “Marius, whom Sertorius had sent out of Spain to Mithridates with forces under him, stepping out and challenging him, prepared for battle. In the very instant before joining battle, without any perceptible alteration preceding, on a sudden the sky opened, and a large luminous body fell down in the midst between the armies, in shape like a hogshead, but in color like melted silver, insomuch that both armies in alarm withdrew. This wonderful prodigy happened in Phrygia, near Otryæ.” (
Plutarch's Lives
:
Lucullus,
translated by John Dryden, 1683.) There is no reason to believe this object was anything but a natural phenomenon.

68 BC, China: A “Guest Star” hovers over the land

The Han Shu, composed in 100 AD, reports that a “guest star” was observed during “first watch of the night” on July 23rd 68 BC. It “stayed between the left and the right star of Chio, pointing southeastward and measuring about 2 degrees. Its color was white.” (Han Shu p.46)

While this particular phenomenon has yet to be identified, it must be noted that the Han Shu uses the same wording to describe the appearance of comet Swift-Tuttle in August of the same year. The Han Shu records many such sightings with great precision, and modern astronomers correlate them to records of comets.

62 BC, Roman Empire: Flashes of fire

Dio Cassius, in his
Roman History
(c. 229 AD), writes “in the west flashes of fire darted up into heaven.” There are many such reports in records of that period, and they are often quoted in UFO chronologies. However they are so vague that they could describe several natural phenomena, including meteors, comets or auroral displays.

July 43 BC: The Comet of Murtine, Croatia

Pliny the Elder tells that Augustus wrote “On the very days of my games, a comet was visible over the course of seven days, in the northern region of the heavens. It rose at about the eleventh hour of the day and was bright and plainly seen from all lands. The common people believed that this star signified the soul of Caesar had been received among the spirits of the immortal gods. On this account, it was added as an adornment to the head of the statue of Caesar that I, not long afterwards, dedicated in the Forum.”

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus included Augustus' account in his book
The Lives of the Caesars
, and Seneca also mentions it in
Quaestiones Naturales
, stating the phenomenon appeared at the 11th hour of the day. Plutarch, Siculus and Obsequens all wrote about it, as well as Servius in his commentaries on Virgil's
Eclogue and Aeneid
in the 4th century. Servius relates the phenomenon was observed in the daytime and lasted for three days, but he was writing long after the event. Astronomers believe there could be a link with a comet recorded in the
Han Shu
for May and June 43 BC.

Circa 5 BC, Galilee: The Star of Bethlehem

The birth of Christ presents us with a remarkable, if controversial, report of an extraordinary star. It is often cited in the UFO literature as an example of the relationship between signs in the sky, celestial beings and human reproduction. A very bright object was reportedly seen in the sky, leading the three Magi to the place where Jesus was born. Many possible explanations have been advanced for this “Star of Bethlehem,” thought by some to be Venus, or a nova. The lack of a precise date or even year for the birth of Jesus makes it difficult to reach a definite conclusion about the nature of this celestial object.

Fig. 45: The Star of Bethlehem

The New Testament describes an encounter between a young woman named Mary and an entity from the sky, described as an angel: “The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favored! The Lord is with you.'”