Weyloe, Denmark — 26 December 1761
A pale object emits a beam
“The following letter was received from Weyloe, in the diocese of Copenhagen: “On the 26th of December last, about ten at night, there arose a great storm. I did not go to bed, and about four minutes past two in the morning, I observed a sudden light across my windows, which I took for lightning: the storm at this time increased not a little. I kept my eye fixed at my window; and at four o’clock I perceived a ray of light which seemed to come in a horizontal direction from the moon, to appearance about a toise and half (nine feet) in length, and about the thickness of a man’s arm. Rays darted from it on each side. “Running into my garden, I saw a ball of fire, about the size of a common ball, running gently from south to north. At first the ball was of a pale colour, like the sun covered with clouds, and threw out many rays. It grew more and more red, and smaller, and in two minutes disappeared without noise or smoke. My astonishment was the greater, as the tempest ceased soon after, though it had been accompanied with such violent blasts of wind, that many imagined they felt the shock of an earthquake. I have spoken to a dozen of people, who also saw it. Of all the phaenomena I have seen in Norway, I remember none equal to this, nor attended with like circumstances.” Given the weather environment, one could hypothesize globular lightning, but the description of multiple beams is highly unusual.
Source: The annual register, or a view of the history, politics, and literature, for the year Case: W299