Ainab Mountain, Lebanon — 18 June 1845
Two large unknowns
“At Ainab, on Mount Lebanon, at half an hour after sunset, the heavens presented an extraordinary and beautiful though awful spectacle.” Witnesses described the phenomenon as “composed of two large bodies, each apparently at least 5 times larger than the moon, with streamers or appendages from each joining the two, and looking precisely like large flags blown out by a gentle breeze.” They appeared in the west, remaining visible for an hour, taking an easterly course, and gradually disappeared. “The appendages appeared to shine from the reflected light of main bodies, which it was painful to look at for any time. The moon has risen about half an hour before, and there was scarcely any wind.” This phenomenon may well have been related to the first sighting for this date, above.
Source: James Glaisher, et al. “Report on observations of luminous meteors, 1860-1861,” Annual Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, (1861): 1-44. Case: W386