Greenwich, England — 18 August 1783
Ten Balls of Light
“At 11 minutes after nine in the evening, a very singular phenomenon was seen at Greenwich. It being rather dark, of a sudden an uncommon light appeared, without any cause visible, for full two minutes; this phenomenon, coming from the N.N.W. perfectly horizontal in its course, and without any vibration, continued to the S.S.E. It passed over Greenwich, and near the Royal Observatory, till the elevated trees in the park took it from the sight. Though it was transitory, the motion was not rapid, for you could distinctly discover its form, colour, &c. Its duration was near two minutes, during which there was no variation in its lustre. Its magnitude and animated effect, made it appear near our earth. Two bright balls parallel to each other, led the way, the apparent diameter of which appeared to be about two feet, and were followed by an expulsion of eight others, not elliptical, seeming gradually to mutilate, for the last was small. Fig. 57: The Greenwich train of meteors “Between each ball, a luminous serrated body extended, and at the last a blaze issued, and terminated in a point. Minute particles dilated from the whole. While this luminary was passing, the atmosphere was exceedingly bright; but immediately after it became dark, though the moon was up. “The balls were partially bright, as imagination can suggest; the intermediate spaces, not so exquisite in their colourings. The balls were tinted first by a pure bright light, then followed a tender yellow, mixed with azure, red, green, &c. which, with a coalition of bolder tints, and a reflection from the other balls, gave the most beautiful rotundity and variation of colours, that the human eye could be charmed with. “The sudden illumination of the atmosphere, the form, and singular transition of this bright luminary, rendered much to make it awful; nevertheless the amazing vivid appearance of the different balls, and other rich, connective parts, not very easy to delineate, gave an effect equal to the rainbow, in the full zenith of its glory. It appeared also almost all over the island of Great Britain nearly at the same time, as well as in France, Flanders, &c.” Although this event is often cited in UFO compilations, this was undoubtedly a meteor, first seen over the Shetland isles with the apparent size of 1/3 the moon, equal to twice the full moon over Kent. It seemed to burst into two over Lincolnshire. When it passed over Windsor it was about 60 miles up, traveling 20 miles a second. It was heard to explode over York some minutes later. The phenomenon was observed from as far away as Ireland and Burgundy.
Source: “Singular Phenomenon,” The Annual Register (Aug. 18, 1783): 214. Case: W518