Observatio & demonstratio cometae aetherei, qui anno 1577 et 1578 constitutus in sphaera veneris, apparvit, cum admirandis eius passionibus, varietate scilicet motus, loco, orbe, distantia à terrae centro, &c. adhibitis demonstrationibus geometricis & calculo arithmetico, cuiusmodi de alio quoquam cometa nunquam visa est

CHAPTER II.

The day of the first appearance is uncertain, as is the last.

It is uncertain to which day the first rising of this stupendous light should be ascribed, because of the frequent inclemency of the sky, which hid the stars from almost the entire world in the days preceding its appearance. To me, indeed, it first offered itself to be seen on the 12th of November of the previous year. For from the end of October, although the dawn sometimes uncovered the sky and allowed me to observe and note the true positions of Venus and Jupiter, both then morning stars, under the starry sphere—and indeed, not once but twice did the Sun not withhold its rays from my large quadrant at midday—yet in the evening hours the entire face of the ether was always hidden under clouds. At last, on the 12th of November, the air was a little milder, and with the clouds dispersed somewhat, it was thought that it would rise. On that day, therefore, when I wanted to note the true position of Saturn in the sky again, before it was enveloped by the rays of the Sun, being close to its heliacal setting, unexpectedly this stupendous prodigy was offered, shining in the ether with such majesty that I could not look upon it without trembling, etc. On this same day, I hear that it first appeared in most provinces of all Germany. From the writings of some, however, published about this Comet, I understand that in some places it was seen a few days earlier; for instance, it was seen at Cologne on November 11th, on which same day it shone at Einbeck in the Duchy of Brunswick, and also elsewhere. A public document published on the matter testifies that this Comet was noticed at Sixo in Hungary on November 10th, after the unexpected and bloody incursion of the enemy robbers of the Church of God (by which they miserably slaughtered many Christians, and partly wished to lead them away as captives together with huge booty) had been defeated and killed by the Christians. Letters of our countrymen performing the duty of an embassy there report that it shone at Constantinople on this same day. I hear that at Lyon it was observed on the 9th of the same month, and at Venice on the 8th. Someone reports in his published writing that some testify to having seen it on the 7th. I do not wonder at this diversity, because the sky was clearer in some places and cloudy in others. Furthermore, men of grave authority and most skilled in Mathematics have reported to me that for an entire week before November 12th they sensed a certain unusual radiance shining from the clouds in the evening: from which they gather by easy conjecture that this Comet rose an entire week earlier. But for all these, the first day of appearance, as far as I know, is unknown. This, however, is certain, that only on the 12th did its presence become known to the whole world, of which a few were certain or still doubtful before, while the rest were entirely ignorant.