06-18-1845
SECTION A. - MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE.
Catalogue of Observations of Luminous Meteors, from September, 1833, to July, 1848, by the Rev. Prof. Powell. - In the Report of the Association for 1847, Prof. Powell had given an imperfect list of observed luminous meteors, so far as he could collect them, for the years subsequent to the termination of M. Quetelet's Catalogue. The Catalogue itself was not suited to be read in detail. Many of the facts in the Appendix were interesting. The Secretary selected the following as an example: -- "Extract from the Malta Mail Times, August 18th, 1845: 'On June 18th, at 9h. 30m. p.m. the brig Victoria, from Newcastle to Malta, in lat. 36° 40' 56", long. 13° 44' 36” was becalmed, with no appearance of bad weather; when her topgallant and royal masts suddenly went over the side as if carried away by a squall. Two hours it blew very hard from the east; and whilst all hands were aloft reefing topsails, it suddenly fell calm again, and they felt an overpowering heat and stench of sulphur. At this moment three luminous bodies issued from the sea, about half a mile from the vessel, and remained visible for ten minutes (it is not said what became of them). Soon after it began to blow hard again, and the vessel got into a current of cold fresh air.'
At Ainab, on Mount Lebanon, at the same time, June 18th, at half an hour after sunset, the heavens presented an extraordinary and beautiful though awful spectacle. A fiery meteor - composed of two large bodies, each apparently at least five 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 - 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 had risen about half an hour before, and there was scarcely any wind." - Sir W.S. Harris characterized this Catalogue as the commencement of a store of valuable facts. The account of the brig Victoria was to him most interesting. He had no doubt it was an electrical phenomenon, exemplifying what Prof. Faraday had described under the name of the glow discharge. Indeed, he had himself imitated the phenomenon artificially; and had recorded a similar fact which had occurred to a vessel when sailing close on a wind under reefed topsails. They saw bearing down from windward, straight on the ship, two wheels of fire, which the men described as rolling mill-stones of fire. When they came near, an awful crash took place, the topmasts were shivered to pieces, and the crew experienced the same overpowering sulphurous stench. The phenomena were thus accounted for: - a highly-charged thunder-cloud was brought down by the wind on the ship; its distance from the sea, though beyond the striking distance, admitted of the "glow discharge," which produced the appearance of the balls or wheels of fire that so alarmed the men. When the cloud came near the ship, its masts brought it within striking distance, - when a discharge or thunder-clap took place. The sulphurous stench was a concomitant of such discharges.
"Eighteenth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.” Athenæum.
With thanks to researcher Chris Aubeck for finding and contributing the text to this site.
Original source: The Malta Times (newspaper), 18 August 1845.
Secondary source: “Report on Observations of Luminous Meteors, 1860-62”, Report of
the British Association for the Advancement of Science 31 (1861):30-31.
UFOCAT PRN – 79591 [DOS: ??-??-1845]
UFOCAT URN – 079591 Mysteries of the Skies: UFOs in Perspective by Gordon Lore, Jr., p. 44,
© 1968 (Note: No Day or Month given in the date).
UFOCAT PRN – 79587 [DOS: 06-18-1845]
UFOCAT URN – 099078 British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1848.05
UFOCAT URN – NONE James Glaisher, J.H. Gladstone, Robert P. Greg and E.J. Lowe, “Report
on Observations of Luminous Meteors, 1860-62”, Report of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science 31 (1861):30-31
UFOCAT URN – 099077 British Assn Advancement of Science – Report 1886.30
UFOCAT URN – 085596 The Book of the Damned by Charles Fort, p. 261, ©19191
UFOCAT URN – 079172 Flying Saucers Have Landed by Desmond Leslie, p. 25, ©1953
UFOCAT URN – 076505 Phénomènes Spatiaux (GEPA) December ©1964
UFOCAT URN – 069643 NICAP Investigator, March 1968, p. 4
UFOCAT URN – 079587 Mysteries of the Skies: UFOs in Perspective by Gordon Lore, Jr., p. 42,
©1968
UFOCAT URN – 057223 Etudes Statistiques Portant sur 1000 Témoignages by Claude Poher,
#0046, No date of publication.
UFOCAT URN – 099050 UFO Register 4, UFO Register by Delair J. Bernard, 1973. © Contact
International (UK).
NOTE 1: In C. Fort’s text he mentions the ship being 900 miles east (incorrect-should be west) of the city of Adalia. A researcher in Turkey has advised me that the city referred to is currently called “Antalya” and is located 450 km south of Ankara, the capital of Turkey.
UFOCAT PRN – 85598 [DOS: 06-18-1845]
UFOCAT URN – 057452 Etudes Statistiques Portant sur 1000 Témoignages by Claude Poher,
#2655, Undated.
UFOCAT URN – 085598 The Book of the Damned by Charles Fort, p. 261, © 1919
UFOCAT PRN – 99076 [DOS: 06-18-1845]
UFOCAT URN – 099076 British Assn Advancement of Science – Report 1848.05
UFOCAT URN – 085597 The Book of the Damned by Charles Fort, p. 261, © 1919
UFOCAT URN – 077593 What We Really Know About Flying Saucers by Otto Binder, p. 153,
© 1967
UFOCAT URN – 079588 Mysteries of the Skies: UFOs in Perspective by Gordon Lore, Jr., p. 42,
© 1968
UFOCAT URN – 073280 Invisible Residents by Ivan T. Sanderson, p. 34, ©1970
UFOCAT URN – 010158 Computerized Catalog (N= 3073) # 0084 Jacques Vallee, No date of
publication.
UFOCAT URN – 010159 Preliminary Catalog (N=500) #001 Jacques Vallee, No date of
publication
UFOCAT URN – 179616 Challenge to Science by Jacques Vallee, 211-001, © 1966
UFOCAT URN – NONE Passport to Magonia by Jacques Vallee, p. 281, ©1969
UFOCAT URN – NONE UFOs – The Greatest Mystery by Hilary Evans, p. 85, ©1979
UFOCAT PRN – 175078 [DOS: 06-18-1845]
UFOCAT URN – 175078 *U* UFO Computer Database by Larry Hatch, # 00095 © 2002
Mediterranean Sea
From text: Latitude 36-40-56 N, Longitude 13-44-36 E (D-M-S)
Adalia Latitude 36-53 N, Longitude 30-42 E (D-M) [also: Antalya and Antaliyah]
Ankara Latitude 39-56 N, Longitude 32-52 E
Reference: Turkey Gazetteer published by the Defense Mapping Agency, Washington, D.C., September 1984.
UFO Location (UFOCAT) Latitude 36.67 N, Longitude 13.73 E (D.%)
http://www.waterufo.net/item.php?id=9