VOL. XXXV.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 239 



to the south of Paris, says, it began there about half past 6, with a constant 

 uniform light in the north ; soon after which appeared three or four luminous 

 arches one over another, from whence issued a great number of rays, which 

 shot up a considerable height above the horizon. At 8 o'clock these rays darted 

 quite up to the zenith ; half an hour after which they very much increased, 

 spreading with strong undulations all over the sky, and all terminating in the 

 zenith formed a sort of cupola there. 



Sign. Francesco Quaranbotti writes from Treggiaia, Oct. 20, 1 726, n. s. 

 that he first observed it a little before 8 in the evening, when it extended itself 

 along the north horizon about 80 degrees, and reached above it about 8. After 

 some time, the luminous emissions began to rise perpendicularly, and con- 

 tinued from time to time so to do, from 9 till 11. About 10 it enlarged to 

 15 degrees farther east, and stretched under the last star in Ursa Major. At 1 1 

 it vanished. 



An anonymous account in Latin, from Florence, informs us, that it was 

 first seen there at half past 6 in the evening, with a clear expanded light, oc- 

 cupying all the space between the north-east and north-west. At 7 it divided 

 into several spherical triangles near the horizon, which half an hour afterwards 

 united into one large one, whose base was near the horizon, and extended 20 

 degrees to the west from the north-pole, and whose vertex reached up to 

 Ursa Minor. This continued about half an hour, and then disappeared ; but 

 at 10 o'clock it returned much more conspicuously, forming about the pole, a 

 large column which was raised 30 degrees above the horizon. From this time 

 it sent out lucid undulations till midnight, when it entirely dispersed. He 

 afterwards takes notice that the same was seen at Milan and Bologna ; the 

 accounts from whence agree, that none of the streams reached beyond the 

 zenith. 



Sign. Manfred! writes from Bologna, Jan. 3, 1 726-7, that he did not ob- 

 serve this phenomenon himself, but was informed that it was seen every where 

 in the Campagna di Roma, as far as Pesaro and Fano. 



From Sweden however it is stated, that though this meteor was seen in Ger- 

 many, Poland, Switzerland, France, and England, yet at Upsal they could 

 observe nothing but the whole sky beset thick with clouds, of a colour like 

 that of the moon in a total eclipse, and variously agitated as by a wind, but 

 this chiefly towards the south; which continued till 9 at night, a little after 

 which it became quite cloudy. 



