UFO. Belarus

In November, 1899 all over Russia people were waiting for... the end of the world. Long before the announced deadline hand went to a thin little book called "four years later (1 November 1899) the prediction of Professor Rudolf Falba". The Professor predicted the complete destruction of the Earth from the terrible blow caused by comet Biela! [1]

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By November 1, things got heated very much. The world witnessed a wave of panic, accompanied by riots and suicides. In Tunisia "...about the prediction about the collision of Earth with comet Biela arose a terrible panic. The Jews were sending their wives to the synagogues to pray; many workers refused to work, claiming that it no longer has any meaning. The Mohammedans staged religious procession, and shooting guns and doing all sorts of excesses" [2]

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In Russia, the panic would not let the people even after the appointed date. Two weeks later, on 14 November, the sky over Minsk province broke out!

"We are told that in the morning of November 14 {1} in the sky appeared a comet, - the "Minsky Listok". - For the first time all the sky was covered as if the glow of the fire; in this light, little by little, began to stand out of the fiery circle, which, gradually increasing in diameter, reached enormous sizes. In the middle of the circle appeared a fiery radiant point; after a few minutes formed the tail of the comet, which soon after disappeared from the sky. All this lasted no more than 10-15 minutes" [3]

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In our time these phenomena cause only one Association: the launch of a heavy launch vehicle. But a hundred years ago was nothing like this...

The next night in the sky over the Kiev province lit up even more fantastic sight. People are terrified and prayed, thinking that the fiery cloud, which they called "comet" that will hit the Earth!

"Yesterday, at 12 o'clock at night, Zhitomirsky could admire the following phenomenon, - said the newspaper "Volyn". In the South - Eastern sky, appeared a long narrow, in the form of arrows, brightly lit strip. It seemed as if consisting of two parts, interrupted in the middle by a thin line. In the centre parts visible were two bright elongated core, closer to the viewer brighter lit. Upon closer observation it seemed that these nuclei then compressed, then expand, like rings of a worm. Under this bright arrow, closer to the horizon stretched a glow as if from fire, hidden under a thin veil of clouds. This glowing arrow could be observed for approximately an hour, then it gradually diminished until they completely disappeared from the horizon. With it disappeared the glow. In different parts of the bunch awake of the population with curiosity and even a secret fear considered this celestial phenomenon. Heard rumors about the appearance expected in the last days of the comet, which was supposed to collide with Earth and destroy it. But with the disappearance of a bright boom subsided and the excitement and the inhabitants dispersed peacefully to their homes. It is hoped that astronomers will not hesitate to explain the nature and causes of yesterday's interesting events" [4]

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In Kiev, too, saw "the comet" as "narrow strips of nearly equal width" and wanted to know what it is. The correspondent of the newspaper "Kievlyanin" has addressed for explanations to the Professor of astronomy M. F. Khandrikov.

Then scientists were even more skeptical than our contemporaries. For two decades Professor of handrikov hard to "explain" the appearance of unidentified flying objects over Kiev bright planets, meteors and weather balloons. This time he said that it was not a comet, but... the reflection of the fire on the outskirts of the city!

"The phenomenon has nothing to do with a comet and, in my opinion, is easily explained - he wrote. - From 10 o'clock in the evening moved across the sky from West to East light Cirrus clouds. About half of 12th night at Demievka was pretty strong fire and its glow illuminated the clouds appeared. One of the Cirrus clouds, which had the correct rectangular shape, is probably down lower than the other and being in the glow of a fire had been lit..." [5]

Immediately showered with messages from places far from Kiev for hundreds of miles - that is from the edges where it was impossible to see the Kiev fire. "At 12.20 night of 15 November on the sky was seen a luminous body, - wrote an eyewitness of Pragela. With the advent of the comet had become, one might say, light... the phenomenon of the comet was observed over an hour. People... with great excitement, expecting that the comet "falls" to Earth and destroy it" [6]

The letters were from the villages of Lipovetsky district, with lines South-Western railway, from the White Church and dozens of other places. Here and there were visible not only "fire arrow". From the border of Kiev and Podolia provinces reported that "...close this phenomenon is noticed a fall of two meteors, one of which seemed quite large" [7]

Witness with Vernadskogo sugar factory wrote: "With confidence I can say that the phenomenon of posing as a band... It would be very interesting if someone explained it, but not fire. On the opposite side of the firmament could be some time to see something resembling a comet, but only the phenomenon that was quite short" [8]

When new evidence was brought to the attention of Professor Hendrikova, he broke another "open letter": "We suggested the explanation of the phenomenon on our understanding, but does not insist on his infallibility, he wrote from the second person. - If we are talking about a simple atmospheric phenomenon, the interpretation of it is beyond the scope of our specialty. We never studied meteorology and deal with it will not. We are not concerned. We want to state categorically that no comet was not visible and that the appearance of meteors in the day to expect, there was no reason... anyway, in further debate on this important issue, we should not be" [9]

Another "specialist" whose name is lost to history, said that it was the Northern lights! On the question of why it was observed in the South, he said: "It was a local Northern lights!" Such an absurdity was obvious even in those days. The correspondent of "Kievlyanin" remarked: "Say, if there is a Havana cigars internal cooking, why not be the Northern lights local fabrication? But all this does not satisfy the curiosity of the inhabitants of Kiev, and they still continue to wrestle... If the astronomers on this account can not agree, it is clear that the narrow-minded assumptions of more varied and fantastic" [10]

Experiments with emission in the upper atmosphere of artificial barium clouds, flashing bright purple light, at the time, was not. In volcanic and earthquake-prone areas of clouds can also light up - whether because of the saturation of electrically charged volcanic ash, whether because of mineral resources, tectonic discharging the excess energy into the atmosphere. But Kiev and the surrounding provinces to the districts never belonged. There are no volcanoes and earthquakes.

Some experts have suggested that the clouds may light up due to malicious different emissions (especially chemical) companies. But in 1899, the level of industry in the province of Kiev was that of no any strong influence on the atmosphere is nothing to say...

There is only one phenomenon, no less mysterious than "flying saucers". The phenomenon is much more rare and almost never mentioned, even in the circles of UFO researchers. I mean "wild fire"...

Literature:

1. The rumors of the demise of the world // Kiev. 1896. N 95

2. The fear of doomsday // from Kiev. 1899. 9 Nov.

3. Comet // Minsk leaf. 1899. 18 Nov.

4. Celestial phenomenon // Volyn (Zhitomir). 1899. 16 Nov.

5. Letter to the editor // from Kiev. 1899. On Nov 17.

6. More on the comet // Volyn. 1899. On Nov 17.

7. From Kiev. 1899. 22 Nov.

8. From Kiev. 1899. 23 Nov.

9. Letter to the editor // from Kiev. 1899. 20 Nov.

10. From Kiev. 1899. 21 Nov.

{1} Here and below, all dates are from Russian Newspapers of the late XIX - early XX century and the date of publication of these notes this old style.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»