Sheffield, England — 5 December 1737
Beams of hot light from a luminous body
At about 5 P.M. a peculiar phenomenon was seen. The witness (astronomer Thomas Short) described it as “a dark red cloud that made its appearance, with a luminous body underneath that sent out very brilliant beams of light.” It did not look anything like aurora borealis, because the light beams were moving slowly for some time, then stopped. Suddenly the air was so hot that he had to take off his shirt, although he was outside.
Source: Thomas Short, “An Account of Several Meteors, Communicated in a Letter from Thomas Short, MD to the President,” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), 41 (1739-1741): 625-630. Case: W282