Straits of Magellan — 7 February 1580
Red, fiery flying shield
In Viajes al Estrecho de Magallanes by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa (ca. 1530-1592) we read of this navigator’s travels to the Strait of Magellan in 1579 and 1581. On Thursday, February 7th 1580 at 1:00 A.M., he wrote that towards the south-southeast: “We saw a round thing appear, red like fire, like a shield, that rose up on the air or dft the wind. It became longer as it went over a mountain and, in the form of a lance high above the mount, its shape became like a half-moon between red and white in color.” The three simple shapes accompanying the text are a circle, an oval and a half-moon. Sarmiento de Gamboa compares the object to an “adarga.” This was a round, oval or heart-shaped shield used in the time of Don Quijote.
Source: Case: W162