Christopher Columbus: UFO or Meteor?

Let me take you back to the evening of Thursday October 11, 1492. Christopher Columbus' ships had taken a southwesterly course two weeks earlier in the hope of running into "Cathay" (China) which he believed lay somewhere past the horizon. However, he had no way of knowing that a continent and another ocean lay between him and his destination. In fact, when he did eventually reach land the next day, he was certain that he had succeeded in his endeavor. Columbus' small fleet of three ships had not seen land since leaving the Canary Islands back on September 06. For the men on this voyage they were literally heading into the great unknown.One can only picture the scene some 500 years later. Columbus himself, standing on the sterncastle of the Santa Maria, his flagship, peering out into the vast lonely darkness that lay ahead of them to the west. Was he correct? Would they reach Cathay or Cipango (Japan) by heading west instead of east? Or had he duped himself into believing that such a thing was possible? He must have begun to wonder whether or not some of the superstitious members of his crew were correct. Would they sail into a murky sea where there lurked large sea-monsters that could grab hold of a ship and carry it down into the watery depths? Or even more startling, would they merely sail off the edge of the world into a great chasm or void? The crew had almost mutinied three days earlier, but Columbus had managed to placate them. However, he was now at the end of his tether. If land was not spotted in the next couple of days, he would be forced to turn back, or worse...thrown into this foreign sea by a disgruntled crew. It would be an ignominious end of a journey that had started with so much promise. Columbus was probably hashing these things over in his mind while he stood there stoic-like on the deck of his flagship. Perhaps he could see the outline of the Nina or the Pinta against the backdrop of an endless and monotonous horizon. Suddenly, however, something caught his attention. His eyes captured a light low in the western sky later described as "a little wax candle bobbing up and down." Excited, he called out to his loyal servant Pero Gutierrez who confirmed that the Admiral's vision was true. Columbus later wrote that this light was "moving up and down." Another man, Rodrigo Sanchez was summoned to bear witness, but apparently by the time that he arrived the light had vanished. Columbus was overjoyed and ordered a salvo of the guns. Four hours later, at 2:00 A..M. a crewman on board the Pinta cried out that he could see land in the distance.

                                            The Nina, Pinta, & The Santa Maria  

     The mysterious light seen by Christopher Columbus has been the subject of debate for centuries. What did he see that night? It has been suggested that he might not have seen anything. The light was imaginary, and Columbus was only trying to revive the downcast spirit of his crew. Perhaps this was his way of feeding them a glimmer of hope. However, this does not explain the second witness Pero Gutierrez who also saw the light. Unless, of course, he was in on the deception.

     The American writer Washington Irving was best known for The Sketchbook. It contained morbid and sometimes fantastical tales such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Rip Van Winkle. However, he was also a biographer of Columbus. He was convinced that the light that Columbus saw that night was attributed to humans. He wrote:

Columbus called Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia and made the same inquiry. By the time the latter had ascended the round-house, the light had disappeared. They saw it once or twice afterwards in sudden and passing gleams; as if it were a torch in the bark of a fisherman, rising and sinking with the waves; or in the hand of some person on shore, borne up and down as he walked from house to house.

     Another 19th century biographer Justin Winsor, was a bit more skeptical. He added a little arithmetic into the equation, which, if anything, showed that the mysterious light could not have come from land. Winsor believed that Columbus had to have been at least 12 to 14 leagues from the island that he would inevitably land the next morning. Using the lower of these numbers, this would mean that the Santa Maria, with Columbus perched on the sterncastle, was at least 36 miles from San Salvador when he supposedly spotted the light.Given that distance and the low elevation of the island of San Salvador it appears highly unlikely that the light he saw came from that island. In fact, due to the curvature of the Earth it would seem almost impossible. The possibility arises however that the light was cased by a fisherman in a canoe, but the canoe would have to have been a good ways from the shore. Also, at 10:00 P.M. it would seem unlikely that any fisherman would be that far from the shore, but the possibility cannot be discounted.

                                           Christopher Columbus (Abt.1451-1506)   
     So if we can almost positively say that the light was not the result of some human traveler, we need to turn our attention to natural phenomena. It is possible that the light could have been a star or planet glimmering on the horizon, perhaps distorted somewhat by atmospheric conditions. However, we cannot forget that Columbus was a professional mariner. He was well acquainted with the night sky, and if the light had been a star or planet, he surely would have recognized it for what it was. At this point in the journey the three ships had reached the 24th parallel. The sky would have changed somewhat from the patterns familiar to the higher latitudes of Europe. However, Columbus was no stranger to this latitude. The Canary Islands lie at roughly the 25th parallel, and he was familiar with the sky around those islands. Due to this reasoning it seems likely that the light he saw was not a star or planet. This leaves only a few more possibilities. It could have been a rare phenomenon known as Ball Lightning. However, there is no mention of any storms being present on the night in question. Since Ball Lightning is almost always associated with stormy conditions we can safely rule this out. Could it have been a meteor? This is a good possibility. There are a few aspects of this theory that make it plausible. First of all, and most obvious, is the short duration of the light. Columbus only had time to call one witness to his side to confirm the sighting. By the time that Rodrigo Sanchez appeared on the scene the light was extinguished, or at least no longer visible to the men on the ship. Secondly, the light was described as "moving up and down," or "like a little wax candle." Fireballs are sometimes said to flicker, especially ones with long trains that give off sparks. At first glance it would seem that the description of "a light moving up and down" would negate the fireball theory. This would be true if the fireball was witnessed from the land, but we must remember that Columbus was standing on the deck of a ship. This percieved movement can easily be attributed to the ships rolling on the waves which would naturally change the elevation of an object seen close to the horizon. An optical illusion perhaps?

     The mystery of this strange light might have been solved had Columbus thought to ask the natives if they had seen any strange lights in the sky the night before. If he did, it is nowhere recorded, and most likely he did not bother to ask. Not only was there a language barrier between the Americans and the Europeans, but Columbus was convinced that the light he had seen came from some torch or fire from the island. Therefore, the possibility of a fireball from the heavens probably never entered his mind. Unless new evidence arises , perhaps in the form of a journal from the time hidden away in some dusty corner of a moth-eaten library, it appears that we can only speculate. The true nature of Columbus' mystery light will probably never be known for sure, but a fireball makes as much sense as anything, and is the most logical conclusion that I can come up with....unless...perhaps...the enigma was caused by something otherworldly...of intelligent desighn.

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