Berlin, Germany: Slow transit — 26 September 1870
”As I was last night examining the constellation Lyra through my 4 /2-inch achromatic,
with a power of 46,1 observed a luminous object, with a distinct comet-like tail, pass slowly through the field of my glass, apparently starting from Vega and falling in the direction of Epsilon Lyrae. The hour by my watch was 12:15, Berlin time. The time occupied by this object in its transit across the disc of the glass was about 30 seconds, but before it had reached its edge it disappeared suddenly from view. I at first thought it was a falling star, but on reflection it appeared to me that a falling star would never have remained so long visible in the telescopic field.”
Source: Mr. Barbazon’s letter to the editor of London Times, 30 Sept. 1870, 9. Case: W436