Wonders in the Sky (52 page)

18 August 1671, Regensburg, Germany
Signs in the clouds

Signs in the sky: An engraving shows an amazed crowd staring at ships in the sky, various mythical animals and armies arrayed for battle. This engraving is cut from a book,
The Relationis historicae semestralis vernalis continuatio
(1672 edition) by Jacobus Francus and Sigismundus Latomus.

Fig. 26: Regensburg phenomenon

Source:
Wunderzeichen, zu Regenspurg gesehen am 18. Augusti 1671.
[Goethe Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt-am-Main, Einblattdr. G.Fr. 12], engraving cut from Francus, Jacobus & Latomus, Sigismundus.
Relationis historicae semestralis vernalis continuatio
(1672). University of Frankfurt, Collection of Gustav Freytag (Einblattdr. G.Fr. 12).

287.

25 January 1672, Paris Observatory, France
Unknown planetoid orbiting Venus

The great astronomer and planetary observer Giovanni Domenico Cassini, who was director of Paris Observatory at the time, recorded the presence of an object that seemed to be a satellite of Venus. He would not announce this discovery until he saw the object again, in 1686.

This supposed satellite was later named “Neith.”

 

Source: “The Problematical Satellite of Venus,” in
The Observatory
7 (1884): 222-226.

288.

8 February 1672, off Cherbourg, France
Triple sky ships

Captain Isaac Guiton reports that a “star” came down; it split into two “ships”, while a third one appeared later. The original reads: “An hour past midday, by the calmest weather in the world, appeared to us a star over our heads, about fifteen feet long. From there it went and fell to the north, leaving some smoke that formed into two ships, each with two lights and the mizzen and their large sails folded, both sailing into the south. The one on the north side was larger than the southernmost one. And as they sailed thus, they separated by about four feet, and another ship formed in the middle, seemingly bigger than the others, all black, and turning its bow to the north without any sails, yet equipped with its masts and ropes, as if resting at anchor. This seemed to us to take over half an hour. After which, they vanished to the south without leaving any trace…”

 

Source: Cited by Michel Bougard in
La chronique des OVNI
(1977), 96.

289.

16 November 1672, Tokyo, Japan
Flying lantern

An object resembling a lantern flew away to the east.

 

Source: Takao Ikeda,
UFOs over Japan
.

290.

1674, Japan, exact location unknown
Fast-flying “dark cloud”

A dark, elongated cloud flies “like an arrow,” on a N to SE trajectory. By definition, meteors are luminous, often described as “fiery.” The description given here, of a dark object, seems to exclude the meteoritic explanation.

 

Source:
Brothers Magazine
I, 1, no original source quoted.

291.

23 May 1676, London, England: Bedroom visitation

In a diary entry, spiritual writer Jane Lead describes a visit from three mysterious figures.

“I saw one as in a Figure of a sprightly Youth, presenting himself near my Bedside, which amazed me, and I was afraid to take knowledge of him, who made out to me, as if he would draw my Aspect to him, but I could not find any Power for Speech with him. This disappearing, another in taller Stature, and more Manly Countenance, drew upon me, seeming to desire Familiarity with me; and then I looked when this Appearance would have spoke, but it was passive, and silent, only pleasant in its Countenance, who on a sudden withdrew. Then again was a presentation of a Person in a middle Stature, comely, sweet, and amiable for attraction; yet I being bounded in my Spirit, was hindered: otherwise I could have run with my Spirit into him.”

While this apparition could be interpreted as an effect of schizophrenia this report would be seen as classic “bedroom visitation” by aliens in the context of today's abduction literature.

 

Source:
The Works of Jane Lead
, op. cit.

292.

16 July 1676, London, England
Fiery object, a globe of light

Spiritual writer Jane Lead witnessed an object in the sky that she took to be “the eye of God.” She wrote “This Morning…there appeared to me an Azure blue Firmament, so Oriental as nothing of this, in this Visible Orb could parallel with it. Out of the midst hereof was a most wonderful Eye, which I saw Sparkling, as with Flaming Streams from it. Which I am not able to Figure out, after that manner, in which it did present it self unto me. But according to this Form it was, as much as I am able to give an account of it, it was thus, or after this manner. There was a Flaming
Eye
in the midst of a Circle, and round about it a Rainbow with all variety of Colours, and beyond the Rainbow in the Firmament, innumerable Stars all attending this Flaming Eye.”