Amiterno, 70 Roman miles NE of Rome, Italy — 133 BC
Sun at night
This case is not to be confused with the sighting at Amiterno in 218 BC mentioned in our Chronology. The literature of the UFO field often quotes this later event, with the mention that “Under the consulate of Africanus and Fabius, the sun was seen shining at midnight.” In reality this object probably was a comet, as recorded by Lucius Annaeus Seneca and Marcus Junianus Justinus in their books. According to Seneca, during the reign of Attalus III, King of Pergamum, “a comet appeared, of moderate size at first. Then it rose up and spread out and went all the way to the equator, so that its vast extent equaled the region of the sky which is called the Milky Way” (Quaestiones Naturales). Justinus noted that at the birth of Mithradates VI Eupator “a comet burned so brightly for 70 days that the entire sky seemed to be on fire. In its greatness it filled a quarter of the heavens, and with its brilliance it outshone the sun, while its rising and setting each took a period of four hours.” (Historiae Philippicae). While there is no proof both writers were referring to the same event, the reign of Attalus III has been dated from 137 to 132 BC, while Mithradates VI Eupator was born between 133 and 131 BC. The descriptions do seem to coincide. Furthermore, a Chinese document, the Han shu, records that a spectacular comet was seen between August and September 134 BC lasting 30 days, while the twelfth century text, T’ungkien kangmu, notes the reign changed due to a comet seen in 133 BC.
Source: Case: W461