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Ancient Russian Manuscript Describes 19th Century UFO Sightings
Created: 07.02.2006 16:50 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:55
MSK
MosNews
Nowadays reports of UFO sightings appear in the media so
frequently that they hardly catch anyone’s eye. More often
than not the alleged UFOs turn out to be signal rockets,
meteorological probes, airplanes or their traces. But this
certainly does not apply to sightings registered centuries
ago — when no rockets or airplanes existed at all. Moscow
daily Komsomolskaya Pravda publishes a document from a personal
archive that tells of a UFO spotted over Kremlin back in
1808.
“I found this document in the personal archive of a Moscow
senator Peter Poludensky, who worked for the Tsar’s Secret
Service and died in the middle of XIX century. Apparently
the manuscript attracted his attention for some reason,”
says Alexander Afanasyev, an expert of the Russian State
History Museum, department of manuscripts.
“Ufology is really not my area, but I am determined that
the manuscript describes a UFO.”
“Radiance Over the Kremlin”
“On September, 1, 1808, at 8 o’clock and 7 minutes in the
afternoon, in the sky, clear and sown with stars, a phenomenon
appeared, incomparable in its beauty and rigor, as well
as in radiance and enormous size, to anything seen before.
As we noticed it, attracted by the loud cracking sound,
it was rising in an arch over the horizon, from 55’ to almost
90’. Having passed this distance in an instant, it stopped
among the clouds as if over the Kremlin and looked like
a long straight plate some nine arshin (6.35 meter) long
and half arshin (0.35 meter) thick.
Then on its front edge, turned to the South-West, an oval
flame flared, some two arshin (1.4 meter) long and one and
a half arshin (1.4 meter) thick, with a flame that can only
be compared to the radiance of burning phosphor.
Floating in a circle without open fire or sparkle, it nonetheless
lighted everything around as broad daylight; then the flame
went out, the light disappeared, but the bright plate remained
and quite smoothly went perpendicularly upwards, reached
the stars and still could be seen for some two minutes and
then, without disappearing, it became invisible due to the
extraordinary height.”
Indeed, the mysterious object described bears resemblance
to modern UFOs descroptions by its ability to stop and start
off abruptly, radiating light, regular shape. However, Afanasyev
rules out the possibility of the manuscript being a fake.
“Impossible. The manuscript is written on authentic paper,
produced in 1805. The spelling and the style obviously belong
to the beginning of XIX century, and the author must have
been an educated person, probably a Moscow State University
professor, since the University is just across the street
from the Kremlin.”
The researcher turned to astronauts, hoping to find out
what the author of the manuscript actually witnessed, but
unexpectedly the astronomers helped him identify the author.
“In 1808 at a meeting of Moscow Naturalist Society Andrey
Chebotaryov, a 24-year-old professor of chemistry at the
Moscow University, made a report on a meteor that he happened
to see,” says Galina Ponomaryova, an expert of the State
Astronomy University.
“Of course it was not a meteor, but at that time any object
in the sky was identified as a meteor.”
The Scheme
The manuscript was accompanied by a sketch, depicting what
Chebotaryov saw.
1. September, 13, 1808 at 20:07 at the Moscow State University
Chebotaryov hears a cracking noise, and lookin out of the
window sees a rectangle object 6.35 meters long and 0.35
meters thick, rising in an arc.
2. The object freezes over the Kremlin at some two or three
kilometers’ height. On the lateral part a bright ball of
flamó flared, some 1.5 meters in diameter. The radiance
continued for five seconds.
3. When the radiance went out, the object smoothly raised
vertically upwards and was visible for two minutes.
“The aim of this document still remains a mystery for me,”
Afanasyev adds.
“At first I suggested that it was a draft for an article
in the paper, but neither the Moscow State University’s
newspaper, nor any other Moscow edition published this material.
Chebotaryov could be preparing an article for the Moscow
Naturalist Society newsletter, but for some reason it was
never published and stayed in the archive until Peter Poludensky
discovered it. Finally, the manuscript was rediscovered
by modern researchers and couls be published for the broader
public.
