Wonders in the Sky

by Jacques Vallee

  It is noteworthy that the description includes some words that appear only once in Ezekiel’s writing and some that only appear once in the entire Old Testament, an indication that the prophet was indeed looking for ways to express a vision that surpassed his understanding – and the ability of translators to adequately convey his experience.

  5.

  464 BC, Rome, Italy: Prodigious shapes and figures

  According to fourth-century Roman writer Julius Obsequens’ Liber de Prodigiis (Book of Prodigies),

  “In the consulate of Aulo Postumio Albino Regillense and Spurio Furio Medullino Fusco, once again and with great splendor a burning in the sky and many other prodigies appeared with shapes and strange figures, frightening the spectators.”

  Such accounts are frequently found in old texts, yet they are of only marginal interest to us, in spite of their tantalizing context, because they give no hint of a description of an actual event. A “burning in the sky” could be a common meteor or an auroral display, and there is no evidence that the “shapes and strange figures” were seen in the air. These considerations, well understood by most scholars of ancient texts, have led us to exclude many such references from our Chronology.

  It is important to note that the version of Obsequens’ chronicle containing the reference cited here was not the original. In 1552, humanist Conrad Wolffhart (1518-1561), who took the Greek name of Lycosthenes, edited the chronicle and added illustrations from wood-cuts. Obsequens’ Liber de prodigiis (Book of Prodigies) was an account of the portents observed in Rome between 190 BC and 12 BC. As some of the original text had not survived, Lycosthenes reconstructed the missing parts himself, starting at 749 BC, from other historical sources. Therefore, the records attributed to Obsequens from prior to 190 BC were possibly not in the Latin original.

  Source: Lycosthenes, Julii Obsequentis Prodigiorum Liber…per Conradum Lycosthenem Rubeaquensem integrati suae restitutus (Basel, 1552).

  6.

  404 BC, Attica, Greece

  Guided by a glowing pillar in the sky

  “When Thrasybulus was bringing back the exiles from Phyla, and wished to elude observation, a pillar became his guide as he marched over a trackless region…The sky being moonless and stormy, a fire appeared leading the way, which, having conducted them safely, left them near Munychia, where is now the altar of the light-bringer.”

  Note: We have found no comet recorded for that period, and the observation remains unexplained.

  Source: Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, Book I, Chapter 24. Cited in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, translations of the writings of the Fathers down to AD 325, by Rev. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (eds.) revised and arranged by A. Cleveland Coxe, Vol. II: Fathers of the Second Century (Edinburgh reprint, 2001).

  7.

  Circa 343 BC, Near Sicily, Italy: a blazing light

  In Diodorus Siculus’ first century text Historical Library, (book 16, 24-5) we read that the voyage of Timoleon from Corinth to Sicily was guided by one or more blazing lights referred to as lampas: “Heaven came to the support of his venture and foretold his coming fame and the glory of his achievements, for all through the night he was preceded by a torch blazing in the sky up to the moment when the squadron made harbor in Italy.”

  Note: This might have been a comet, but it has never been matched with any known cometary object, according to Gary Kronk’s Cometography. P. J. Bicknell, writing in The Classical Quarterly (“The Date of Timoleon’s Crossing to Italy and the Comet of 361 BC” in New Series, Vol. 34, No. 1, 1984, 130-134) argues that “a cometary hypothesis is barely compatible with the implication of Diodorus’ account that the lampas were visible in the east at nightfall and therefore in opposition to the sun…All in all it is difficult to resist the conclusion that Diodorus (or his source) elaborated on the lampas for dramatic effect…”

  Bicknell leans towards the interpretation of the objects as a spectacular meteor shower, possibly the Lyrids, which would put the date of his voyage at 21 March 344 BC However this does not account for a phenomenon seen “all through the night” in a fixed direction.

  Source: Gary Kronk. Cometography–A Catalog of Comets, Volume 1 Ancient-1799 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 511.

  8.

  218 BC, Amiterno, Italy: phantom ships

  “During this winter many portents occurred in Rome and the surrounding area, or at all events, many were reported and easily gained credence, for when once men’s minds have been excited by superstitious fears they easily believe these things…A phantom navy was seen shining in the sky; in the territory of Amiternum beings in human shape and clothed in white were seen at a distance, but no one came close to them.”

  There is no evidence that the aerial sightings had any connection with the other reports, so the mystery only seems compounded by the juxtaposition of strange events. In their chronological chapters, both Pliny and Livy appended a list of all prodigies reported for a given year, which were compiled in the Annales Maximi for the Consuls. These Annals, which were lost even before the time of Livy and Pliny, are now lost. This explains why the Roman prodigies that have reached us are only dated by their year, with an odd juxtaposition of unrelated events.

  Source: The History of Rome Vol III by Livy, trans. Reverend Canon Roberts (Montana: Kessinger Publishing 2004), 51.

  9.

  216 BC, Arpi, Apulia, Italy: Shields

  “At Arpi shields had been seen in the sky and the sun had appeared to be fighting with the moon; at Capena two moons were visible in the daytime.”

  This description from Livy suggests disk-shaped flying objects but could also refer to meteors, as we do not know the duration of the observation.

  Source: The History of Rome Vol III by Livy, trans. Reverend Canon Roberts (Montana: Kessinger Publishing 2004), 54.

  10.

  2 August 216 BC, Cannae, Apulia, Italy

  Round objects, white figures

  During the famous battle won by Hannibal in Cannae (2 August, 216 BC), in the Apulian plain near Barletta, which saw the largest defeat in the history of Rome, a mysterious phenomenon was observed: “On the day of the battle, in the sky of the Apulia, round objects in the shape of ships were seen. The prodigies carried on all night long. On the edge of such objects were seen men dressed in white, like clergymen around a plow.”

  Source: Italian magazine Cielo e Terra (August 1967): 2. We were unsuccessful in tracking down an original source. We include this quote from a popular magazine with reservations, given the abundance of fictional historical material in that period, and acknowledge a possible confusion with case 8 above.

  11.

  June 213 BC, Hadria, Gulf of Venice, Italy

  Men seen in the sky

  “At Hadria an altar was seen in the sky and about it the forms of men in white clothes.”

  Fig. 3: An interpretation of the Hadria sighting

  This illustration attempts to capture the scene, which suggests an event remarkable enough for historians to have noted it, and for a record to have been preserved. We suspect, however, that a confusion of locations may exist with the case of 218 BC in Amiterno. White clothes are indicative of sacerdotal garments.

  Source: Lycosthenes, Julii Obsequentis Prodigiorum Liber…per Conradum Lycosthenem Rubeaquensem integrati suae restitutus (Basel, 1552).

  12.

  173 BC, Lanuvium, Albano Laziale (Lanuvio), Italy

  Aerial fleet

  “As it was fully expected that there would be war with Macedonia, it was decided that portents should be expiated and prayers offered to win ‘the peace of the Gods,’ of those deities, namely, those mentioned in the Books of Fate. At Lanuvium the sight of a great fleet had been witnessed in the heavens….”

  Source: The History of Rome Vol III by Livy, trans. Reverend Canon Roberts (Montana: Kessinger Publishing 2004), 72.

  13.

  163 BC, Cassino, Lazio Province, Italy

  Nocturnal lights, sounds

 
; A “sun” shone at night for several hours. The original text reads: “Consulship of Tiberius Gracchus and Manius Juventus: at Capua the sun was seen during the night. At Formice two suns were seen by day. The sky was afire…In Cephallenia a trumpet seemed to sound from the sky…By night something like the sun shone at Pisaurum.”

  These phenomena are grouped together by a chronicler, but they were not observed at the same time or in the same region. It is frustrating for us not to have more detail.

  Note that this is the last of Lycosthenes’ restored cases; all further references from Obsequens’ book were also in the original.

  Source: Lycosthenes, Julii Obsequentis Prodigiorum Liber…per Conradum Lycosthenem Rubeaquensem integrati suae restitutus (Basel, 1552).

  14.

  122 BC, Ariminium, Italy: Three “moons” at once

  A huge luminous body lit up the sky, and three moons rose together.

  Pliny writes in his Natural History, Book II, Chapter XXXII: “Three moons have appeared at once, for instance in the consulship of Gnaeus Domitius and Gaius Fannius.”

  Another citation from Dio Cassius (Roman History, Book I) states: “At Ariminium a bright light like the day blazed out at night; in many portions of Italy three moons became visible in the night time.”

  The observation of triple moons in the night sky is a rare but explainable atmospheric phenomenon. We include the case because of the ambiguity about the coincidence of several phenomena making a strong enough impression to be recorded by serious authors.

  Source: Pliny the Elder, Natural History, trans. Harris Rackham (Harvard University Press, 1963), vol. 10, 243.

  15.

  103 BC, Amelia and Todi, Italy

  Shields clashing in the sky

  During the War with the Cimbri, “from Amelia and Todi, cities of Italy, it was reported that at night there had been seen in the heavens flaming spears, and shields which at first moved in different directions, and then clashed together, assuming the formations and movements of men in battle, and finally some of them would give way, while others pressed on in pursuit, and all streamed away to the westward.” The description of the objects’ behavior is puzzling, radically different from what would be expected in the case of a meteor shower. Nor does it fit well with an aurora borealis. Note that Obsequens locates the sighting at Rimini in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

  Source: Plutarch, Plutarch’s Lives, trans. Bernadotte Perrin (Harvard University, 1950) v.9, 509. Also see: Lycosthenes, Julii Obsequentis Prodigiorum Liber…per Conradum Lycosthenem Rubeaquensem integrati suae restitutus (Basel, 1552).

  16.

  99 BC, Tarquinia, Viterbo Province, Italy

  Another flying shield

  In Tarquinia, over a wide area, a fiery meteor was seen, which flew away quickly. “At sunset a round shield (orbis clypeus) flew west to east.”

  As noted before, the reference to “flying shields” appears several times in the old chronicles. In the absence of additional detail, it is impossible to determine whether the object was a meteor that seemed disk-shaped. We mention such cases with reservation. The document does specify that the object was “round”, suggesting a defined structure.

  Tarquinia was 52 Roman miles Northwest of Rome.

  Source: Lycosthenes, Julii Obsequentis Prodigiorum Liber…per Conradum Lycosthenem Rubeaquensem integrati suae restitutus (Basel, 1552).

  17.

  91 BC, Spoletium in Umbria, N. Rome, Italy

  Globe, flying up!

  “Near Spoletium a gold-colored fireball rolled down to the ground, increased in size; seemed to move off the ground toward the east and was big enough to blot out the sun.”

  Such an object does not match the pattern of a meteor. We considered the possibility that it might have been a rare form of ball lightning, but this idea is contradicted by the observation that it could “blot out the sun.”

  Source: Obsequens, Prodigiorum, op. cit., ch. 114; Paulus Orosius, Historiarum Adversum Paganos, Book V.

  18.

  Circa June 76 BC, China, exact location unknown

  Mysterious candle star

  “The fifth year of the Yüan-feng reign period, in the fourth month (12th May to 9th June, 76 BC), a candle star appeared between K’uei and Lou.” Astronomers have no idea what it could have been. Some suggest it was a nova, others a comet or meteor.

  Chapter 26: 1292 of the same History defines the term thus: “A candle star resembles Venus. It remains stationary from sight right after its appearance. Riot is expected in cities and districts over which it shone.” A candle star was one of the 18 irregular “stars” defined in Chinese records.

  Source: History of the Han Dynasty, ch. 26: 1307; quoted by Y. L. Huang, “The Chinese Candle Star of 76 BC,” The Observatory 107 (1987): 213. The History of the Han Dynasty was part of “Astrological Treatise,” compiled by Ma Hsü around 140 AD.

  19.

  76 BC, Rome, Italy: Maneuvering “torch” in the sky

  A group of witnesses with Proconsul Silenus: A spark fell from a star, became as big as the moon, and went up again, which contradicts natural explanations.

  The original text reads: “In the consulship of Gnaeus Octavius and Gaius Scribonius a spark was seen to fall from a star and increase in size as it approached the earth, and after becoming as large as the moon it diffused a sort of cloudy daylight, and then returning to the sky changed into a torch; this is the only record of this occurring. It was seen by the proconsul Silanus and his entourage.”

  Source: Pliny the Elder, Natural History, trans. Harris Rackham (Harvard University Press, 1963).

  20.

  48 BC, Thessaly and Syria: Fiery bombardment

  Another example of a sighting where the object appears to favor one camp over another in battle: “Thunderbolts had fallen upon Pompey’s camp. A fire had appeared in the air over Caesar’s camp and then fell upon his own.”

  In other cases of ancient battles, such fiery objects turned out to be primitive incendiary missiles, so we include this case with reservations.

  Source: Cassius Dio Cocceianus, Dio’s Rome: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimus Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus, trans. Herbert Baldwin Foster (Troy, New York, 1905), vol. 2, 227.

  21.

  24 May 12 BC, China, exact location unknown

  A large hovering object, fire rain

  “In the first year of the Yuen-yen period, at the 4th Moon, between 3 P.M. and 5 P.M., by clear sky and serene weather, a sound similar to thunder was heard repeatedly. A meteor (sic) appeared, the front part the size of a vase, over 100 feet long. Its light was red-whitish. It stood far to the SE of the sun. It threw off fiery sparks on four sides, some as large as a pail, others the size of an egg. They fell like rain. This phenomenon lasted until the evening.”

  This is an unexplained episode. Meteors do not linger for two hours, and do not shower the landscape with fiery rain.

  Source: Edouard Biot, Catalogue des étoiles filantes et des autres météores observés en Chine pendant 24 siècles (Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1846), 9-10. This book provides an extremely valuable record of astronomical observations in China during much of its history.

  22.

  10 February 9 BC, Kyushu, Japan: Nine evil suns

  The Kumaso people were prospering, until nine “Suns” were seen in the sky, followed by great chaos.

  We considered the hypothesis that the phenomenon was a sun-dog, but we found no record of a refraction effect producing nine images of the sun. This is one of numerous items for which it is difficult to locate Asian sources in translation. We mention such cases, fragmentary as they are, in the hope of encouraging future researchers to seek complete sources. This story may originate in the ancient Chinese legend of the nine suns shot down from the sky by Yao dynasty hero Yi when Earth’s original ten suns were making life insufferable, in which case it should be regarded as legend rather than fa
ct.

  Source: Brothers Magazine (Japan) No. III, 1964. This magazine was one of the earliest publications about UFOs in Japan. Unfortunately, it did not provide a quote from an actual source.

  23.

  April 34 AD, China, exact location unknown

  Squadron of flying intruders

  A white, round object accompanied by 10 small stars flies overhead. This could refer to a train of meteors, but the pattern is unusual if “accompanied” means that the ten small stars were flying in some sort of formation with the main object.

  Source: Edouard Biot, Catalogue des étoiles filantes et des autres météores observés en Chine pendant 24 siècles (Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1846).

  24.

  61 AD, China

  A golden apparition is said to have spread Buddhism

  Han Emperor Mingti, who had heard of Buddhism, had a vision of a golden figure floating in a halo of light – interpreted as a flying Apsara (Buddhist angel). Some sources present this vision as a dream, others as an “apparition.” Arthur Lillie mentions it as a “golden man, a spirit named Foe,” while Gray calls it “a foreign god entering his palace.”

  Whatever it was, the visionary being was interpreted by the Emperor’s wise men, including Minister Fu Yi, to be the Buddha himself. Consequently, an envoy was sent to India to learn about the new religion, returning with sacred Buddhist texts and paintings as well as Indian priests to explain the teachings of the Buddha to the Emperor.

  The narrative we have does not mention any physical object in the sky at the time, which strictly takes the event out of the realm of aerial phenomena. As will be seen in Part III of this book (“Sources and Methods”) the two coauthors have had extensive debate over the wisdom of including such cases in this catalogue, especially from sources steeped in myth and symbolism.