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Description

Bligh, fifth Earl of Darnley, writes of a 'luminous presence', at times described as a meteor or 'enormous comet', observed at Clifton Lodge. Includes one diagram separate to the text. With accompanying letter from Darnley to J G [John George] Children.

Subject: Astronomy

Written by Bligh at Clifton Lodge, Athboy [Ireland].

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 3 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'An account of an extraordinary luminous appearance in the heavens, seen at athboy in Ireland, on the 21st of March, 1833'.

Reference number
AP/17/3
Earliest possible date
28 March 1833
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
6 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

Edward Bligh

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Citation

Edward Bligh, Unpublished paper, 'Account of an extraordinary luminous presence in the heavens seen at Athboy in Ireland on the 21st March 1833' by Lord Darnley [Edward Bligh], 28 March 1833, AP/17/3, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_17_3/unpublished-paper-account-of-an-extraordinary-luminous-presence-in-the-heavens-seen-at-athboy-in-ireland-on-the-21st-march-1833-by-lord-darnley-edward-bligh, accessed on 12 November 2025

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  • Archived Papers

    The 'Archived Papers' collection is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.

    Dates: 1768 - 1989

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