Wonders in the Sky

by Jacques Vallee

  Some doubts can be expressed about the event. The correspondence of Gaspare has been published yet the event is mentioned nowhere in his letters, even though we have letters dated from multiple dates in May 1820. He sent two letters to his hierarchy on the 27th on the 28th of May, 1820, neither of which letters mention such an event.

  Source: Biography of Saint Caspar (1786-1837). Despite featuring in UFO archives we have yet to trace a source, though some reference to the event appears here: Gaspar Del Bufalo, A close-up acquaintanceship. Depositions of V. Severini, G. Menicucci, B. Panzini at the processes for the canonization of St. Gaspar Del Bufalo (Rome: Pia Unione Preziosissimo Sangue, 1992), 49.

  400.

  7 September 1820, Embrun, France

  Arago’s unknown formation: Military precision

  Astronomer François Arago, director of Paris observatory, reports that “numerous people have seen, during an eclipse of the moon, strange objects moving in straight lines.

  They were equally spaced and remained in line when they made turns. Their movements showed military precision.”

  Source: François Arago, Oeuvres Complètes de François Arago (Paris, 1857), v. 11, 575-8; “Etoiles filantes en plein jour”, in Annales de Chimie et de Physique, vol. 30 (1825): 575-8.

  Fig. 35: French astronomer François Arago (1786-1853)

  401.

  13 February 1821, Paris, France: Luminous globe

  People leaving a theatre observed a luminous globe in the air, which did not vanish until daybreak. The translator notes sceptically that this comes from “a French publication, as an example of the superstitious opinions which even in our times prevail to a considerable degree, in an otherwise enlightened country.”

  Source: Adams Sentinel (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania), May 2nd 1821.

  402.

  23 October 1822, Buchholz, Germany: Two objects

  Astronomer Pastorff sees two round spots passing in front of the Sun.

  Source: “New Planets,” Annual of Scientific Discovery (1860): 409-11, at 411.

  403.

  5 December 1822, Aberdeen, Scotland

  Globular intruder

  “Soon after six o’clock, a most extraordinary meteor was observed, almost due north from Aberdeen. When first seen, it had the appearance of a large ball of the moon’s diameter; but descending towards the horizon, it formed the shape and appearance of a luminous fiery pillar; soon after which it ascended, and assumed its original globular form – again descended a little, and began to extend itself as before, when it suddenly vanished.”

  Source: The Edinburgh Advertiser, 10 December 1822.

  404.

  22 May 1823, Hereford, England

  Bright unknown near Venus

  Bright shining object observed near Venus, again reported by an experienced astronomer, Reverend T. W. Webb.

  Fig. 36: Reverend Webb

  Reverend T.W. Webb was the author of Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, a very popular reference book for serious amateur astronomers.

  Source: Nature 14: 195.

  405.

  12 August 1825, at sea near Hawaii, Pacific

  Large red round object, wide illumination

  English naturalist Andrew Bloxam and others saw a large red luminous object rise, illuminating everything. It fell out of sight, rose and fell again: “About half past 3 o’clock this morning the middle watch on deck was astonished to find everything around them suddenly illuminated.

  “Turning their eyes eastward they beheld a large, round, luminous body rising up about 7 degrees apparently from the water to the clouds, and falling again out of sight, and a second time rising and falling: it was the color of a red-hot [cannon] shot and appeared about the size of the sun…It gave so great a light that a pin might be picked up on deck.”

  Source: The Diary of Andrew Bloxam (Honolulu, 1925). As reported in UFO Investigator (NICAP) 4, No. 5 (March 1968).

  406.

  1 April 1826, Saarbrücken, Germany: Gray object

  A grayish object, whose size was evaluated at over 1 meter, rapidly approached the ground with a sound like thunder and “expanded like a sheet.”

  Source: American Journal of Science and Arts 26 (July 1834): 133; The Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature, and Art, by the Royal Institution of Great Britain 24 (July to Dec. 1827): 488; E.F.F. Chladni, “Ueber eine merkwürdige meteorische Erscheinung, am 1. April 1826, nicht weit von Saarbrücken”, in Annalen der Physik 83, no. 7 (Leipzig, 1826): 372-377.

  407.

  1827, Tietjerk, Friesland, Holland

  Fiery man from the sky

  A man named Lieuwe Klaasens and a pastor saw a fireball land nearby, taking form as a fiery man who flew up.

  Source: Kornelius Ter Laan, Folkloristisch woordenboek van Nederland en Vlaams België, (‘s-Gravenhage: G. B. Van Goor zonen, 1949).

  408.

  March 1828, Mount Wingen, Australia

  Cigar-shaped object lands

  A mysterious flying object was said to have descended upon Mount Wingen at the Burning Mountain Nature Reserve. It was “cigar-shaped and had a funny silver colour” and made a loud banging noise. According to the report, “when it landed it set fire to all the vegetation and killed the cattle.”

  Allegedly, tall strangers appeared in the town at the same time. “They never said anything but always pointed to the things they wanted.”

  The event must have caused quite a stir as the folk of Wingen began linking it with strange disappearances among them: “Quite often people just disappeared and dogs and domesticated animals disappeared too,” wrote the informant, referring to the tale his grandfather used to tell.

  Source: Australian Post, June 17, 1989, and W. Chalker, Project 1947: Australian Aboriginal Culture & Possible UFO Connections (1996).

  409.

  17 July 1829, Kensington, Pennsylvania, USA

  Bright red object crossing the Delaware

  Between 11 P.M. and midnight “a meteor of rather singular character” arose from the neighbourhood of the Schuylkill, passed over Kensington and the river Delaware, and disappeared behind the woods of Jersey.

  “A long trail of light, like that of a shooting star was seen to follow it in the beginning of its ascension; large sparkles that separated themselves from it and descended slowly, were distinctly visible until hidden from view by the tops of the houses. Its motions were rapid, irregular, and wavering, like the fluttering of a kite or the rocking of an air balloon.

  “Its appearance was of a deep red colour, and remarkably brilliant, seemingly about half the size of the moon. It arose until it crossed the Delaware, when it appeared but an inconsiderable speck scarcely discernable, and then descended with astonishing velocity until within a short distance of the horizon, where it remained stationary for a few moments. “Suddenly it became exceedingly large and brilliant, sparkles again separated from the main body, and descended as before. It soon after became dim and disappeared behind the trees. Altogether, I should suppose it was visible about fifteen or twenty minutes.”

  Source: Hazard’s Register of Pennsylvania 4, 3 (July 18, 1829): 48.

  410.

  23 July 1830, Whinny Park, near Cupar, Fife, Scotland

  Two unknown flashing lights and a beam

  As he was travelling from Auchtermuchty to Letham, reverend Alexander Espline noticed a peculiar light hanging in the air above Whinny Park, the property of a wealthy man named James Millie. As he came closer, Espline saw there were actually two lights of unequal brilliance. The smaller one emitted a beam, after which both lights started flashing. Scared by the display, Espline ran away. Two days later, the body of James Millie was found near the site.

  An extract from the Edinburgh Observer, published as a broadside, related that Millie was a middle aged man living in a remote area in Whin (Whinny) Park near Cupar, and was murdered sometime in June 1830 by his servant, John Henderson. Henderson was arrested on Sunday 25 July, 1830. It is interesting that the light was
not considered related to the murder at the time. Indeed, it tells that “the path was so beaten that, but for an accidental circumstance, the discovery would probably never have been made.”

  Flickering lights, often an ignis fatuus, emerge in many medieval stories to indicate a burial or significant site.

  Source: Elliot O’Donnell, Ghosts with a purpose (Rider, 1951); “Horrid murder! A full, true and particular account of that most atrocious and horrid murder…” (1830), National Library of Scotland, NLS F.3.a.13 (108).

  411.

  14 November 1832, Tyrol, Germany

  Hovering object

  A ball of bright light accompanied by “falling stars” hovered for 15 minutes. Our primary source is based on a letter received from Bruneck (Tyrol, Germany). While it is true the phenomenon occurred at the usual time of the Leonids meteor shower, the event does not naturally involve a ball of light suspended in the sky for a quarter of an hour, so the case merits our attention.

  Source: The Annual Register or a view of the History, Politics and Literature of the year 1832 (London, 1833): 444-445.

  412.

  16 March 1833, North Carolina

  A very slow “meteor” changes course

  At 6:35 P.M., during twilight, a man observed an object as bright as Venus, about the same elevation but a little to the right of it. It was running in a northerly direction until it changed course, running parallel to the horizon. It assumed a serpentine shape and became stationary extending over 12 to 15 degrees and retaining its brilliance for about two minutes. The witness reports: “It continued gradually to fade, appearing more and more like a thin whitish cloud; and at 6:40 the last vestige of it disappeared, being visible just 5 minutes.”

  Source: Boston (Mass.) Investigator, 17 May 1833.

  413.

  13 November 1833, Niagara Falls, N.Y., USA

  Hovering square

  A large luminous square object was observed in the sky for an hour. It remained stationary, and then went away slowly.

  Source: American Journal of Science 25: 391.

  414.

  1834, Cologne (Köln), Germany

  Bright object splits in two

  Bright object flying NE-N parallel to the horizon, reappeared and split in two.

  Source: François Arago, Astronomie Populaire, vol. IV (Paris, 1840): 266.

  415.

  11 May 1835, Sicily, Italy

  Astronomer’s sighting

  Unknown luminous object reported by astronomer Cacciatore. It was observed on four consecutive days.

  “Cacciatore noted what he first believed was an eighth magnitude star on May 11, 1835; but, with his next observation, on May 14, 1835, its position had changed relative to another star, and he thought the object either a comet or planet beyond Uranus. Clouded skies prevented further observations until June 2, 1835; but, by then, the object had been lost.”

  Source: “Supposed new planet,” American Journal of Science, S. 1, 31 (1837): 158-9, and “Cacciatore’s supposed planet of 1835,” Nature 18 (July 4, 1878): 261.

  416.

  6 October 1835, Cosenza, Italy

  Maneuvering pyramid

  A pyramid-shaped meteor appears and heads off towards a mountain, leaving a “gloomy tail.” It first appeared as a lighted object seen flying West of Cosenza. It rose into the air and changed shape, leaving a vaporous trail, moving slowly towards the south. It followed a parabolic curve and disappeared towards Fiumefreddo harbor.

  Source: “Casistica dei Fenomeni Straordinari” in Orizonti Sconosciuti 5, “Periodo: 1819-1857” (1976); Nicola Leoni, Della Magna Grecia e delle tre Calabrie (Napoli, 1844), 325-326.

  417.

  12 January 1836, Cherbourg, France

  Spinning disk whistles

  A “luminous body, seemingly two-thirds the size of the moon” was witnessed at 6:30 P.M. “Central to it there seemed to be a dark cavity.” The object was traveling at around half a mile per second at an altitude of 1000 feet or so and seemed to rotate on its axis. It cast shadows on the ground as it whistled past.

  Source: Rept. British Assoc. for the Advancement of Science 77 (1860). The object was not ‘doughnut-shaped’ as many have written.

  418.

  1 July 1836, Szeged, Hungary

  Light globes and a lady in white

  Globular lights, poltergeist effects and apparitions of an entity resembling “a lady in white” and a dwarf-sized Franciscan monk. The case mainly concerns a so-called haunted house and objects being thrown around by unseen hands. Such manifestations are not uncommon in ufological literature and have been related by some researchers to the abduction phenomenon.

  Source: The story comes from a letter by a Dr. V. Stantsky which was sent to Justinius Kerner and published in the latter’s periodical: Magikon, Archive für beobachtungen aus dem Gebiete der Geisterkunde und des magnetischen und magischen Lebens, vol. 3 (Stuttgart, 1846), 223-237; William Howitt, “Throwing of Stones and Other Substances by Spirits,” The Spiritual Magazine, vol. VI, 3 (Feb. 1865): 55-56.

  419.

  8 July 1836, Saratov Province, Russia

  Hovering globe

  At 10 P.M. there appeared, almost on the horizon to the north, a globe-shaped whitish mass as large as the moon; for several minutes it hovered in the air, after which it slowly descended to the ground and disappeared, leaving a zigzag trail.

  Source: Mikhail Gershtein, Potu storonu NLO (Beyond the other side of UFOs) (Moscow: Dilya ed., 2002), 159, citing Utkin S.NLO 200 let nazad? (UFO 200 years ago?) in the newspaper Zarya Molodezhi, Saratov, 3 Feb. 1990.

  420.

  1 November 1836, Buchholz, Germany

  Unexplained objects

  Two unexplained objects crossing the face of the sun, reported by astronomer Pastorff: they were of unequal size, changing position relative to each other.

  Source: Annual of Scientific Discovery (1860): 410.

  421.

  1837, Scarborough, England

  Frightening lights at ground level

  By a clear starlight night Mr. White, chief officer of the preventive service of the Scarborough station (“a most respectable authority”) was proceeding from his house to a cliff where one of his men, named Trotter, had the lookout.

  According to a letter from his son to a science magazine, “He passed a plantation in his way, in which he heard a loud crash among the trees, as if it had been the fall of an aerolite (…) He saw before him what he thought were balls of fire, about the size of an orange, appearing and disappearing with an undulating motion, about five or six feet from the ground; not accompanied by any noise, nor did they move over the hedges; but he observed other luminous appearances shooting across the road and sky, emitting a hissing noise like a rocket, but not so loud.

  “The same appearances (particularly the latter) had so frightened the man, that he had actually hid himself for fear of them.”

  Source: The Magazine of Natural History (Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1837): 550-551.

  422.

  16 February 1837, Buchholz, Germany

  Uncorrelated planetoid

  Another unexplained object crossing the face of the sun, reported by astronomer Pastorff.

  Source: Annual of Scientific Discovery for 1860 (Boston, 1867): 410.

  423.

  29 August 1837, Tirgu-Neamt, Romania

  Luminous sphere

  During the night a luminous sphere was observed by local people. It came closer to the ground at dawn, illuminating the fields with an intense reddish glow.

  Source: Albina Româneasca, 2 Sept. 1837.

  424.

  1838, India, location unknown: Disk with appendage

  A flying disk, about the apparent size of the moon but brighter, from which projected a hook-shaped appendage, was reported by G. Pettitt. It was visible about 20 minutes.

  Source: Baden Powell. “A catalogue of observations of luminous meteors,” Annual Report of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science (1849): 1-53, at 2, 44.

  425.

  2 October 1839, Rome, Italy: Unidentified planet

  Astronomer De Cuppis of the Royal College: unknown body similar to a planet passes in front of the sun. This is one of the main observations selected by Le Verrier to compute his orbit of Vulcan. The object was “a perfectly round and defined spot, moving at such a rate that it would cross the sun in about 6 hours.”

  Source: E. Dunkin, “The suspected Intra-Mercurial planet.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 37 (February 1877): 229-30.

  426.

  9 April 1843, Greenville, Tennessee, USA

  Lighthouses in the sky

  According to the Greenville (Tennessee) Miscellany:

  “About eight o’clock, there was seen in the south-western sky a luminous ball, to appearance two feet in circumference, constantly emitting small meteors from one or the other side of it. It appeared in brightness to outrival the great luminary of day.

  “On its first appearance it was stationary one or two minutes, then, as quick as thought, it rose apparently thirty feet, and paused – then fell to the point from whence it had started, and continued to perform this motion for about fifteen times. Then it moved horizontally about the same distance, and for nearly the same space of time. At length it assumed its first position; then rose again perpendicularly about twelve feet, and remained somewhat stationary, continuing to grow less for an hour and a quarter, when it entirely disappeared.”