Instances When Many Suns Appeared in the Sky

It rarely happens that the cloud is so complete that more than 3 suns are seen at the same time.

However, in 1625, the King of Poland saw as many as 6.

Only 3 years ago, the mathematician from Tübingen observed the 4 suns designated here by the letters D, E, F, H.

He particularly notes in his writings that the 2 suns, D and F, were red.

They were on the side facing the middle one, E, which he called the true sun.

They were blue on the other side.

The fourth sun H was very pale and barely visible.

This strongly confirms what I have said.

But the most beautiful and remarkable observation I have seen on this subject is that of the 5 suns that appeared in Rome in March 20, 1629 around 2-3pm.

And so that you may see if it agrees with my discourse, I will describe it here in the same terms in which it was then reported:

A: A Roman observer. B: Zenith above the observer. C: The true sun observed.

AB is the vertical plane in which both the observer’s eye and the observed sun exist, and in which the zenith point B lies.

Therefore, everything is represented along the vertical line AB, as the entire vertical plane leans into it.

Around the sun C, 2 incomplete and concentric rainbows appeared, differing in color.

The smaller, or inner one, DEF, was fuller and more complete but short, open from D to F, and always attempting to close, sometimes succeeding but soon opening again.

The other, weaker and barely visible, was GHI, the outer and secondary one, also varied in color but very unstable.

A third, single-colored, very large rainbow was KLMN, entirely white, like those often seen around the moon during paraselenae.

This was a complete eccentric arc from the beginning of the sun through the middle, but weak and torn towards the end from M to N, almost nonexistent.

In the common intersections of this circle with the outer rainbow GHI, two not very perfect parhelia emerged, N and K; the latter weaker, the former stronger and more brilliant.

Both had a central brightness rivaling the sun, but their edges were tinged with rainbow colors; neither round and precise, but their contours uneven and gap-filled. N was a restless spectrum, emitting a thick subignous tail, NOP, with continuous reciprocation.

L and M were above the Zenith B, less vivid than the previous ones, but rounder and white, resembling their attached circle, expressing milk or pure silver, although M had almost disappeared in the middle, leaving only faint traces from time to time, as that part of the circle had faded.

Sun N disappeared before sun K, and as it faded, K became stronger, disappearing last of all, etc.

CKLMN was a white circle in which 5 suns were visible.

The observer at A saw this circle hanging in the air above him.

Point B corresponded to the top of his head. The 2 suns L and M were behind his shoulders when he was facing the other three, K, C, N.

The 2 suns K and N had colored edges and were neither as round nor as bright as the one at C.

This shows that they were caused by refraction.

Whereas the 2 suns L and M were quite round, less bright, and all white, without any other color at their edges.

• This shows that they were caused by reflection.

Several factors could have prevented a 6th sun from appearing at V.

The most plausible factor is that the eye was so close to it, due to the height of the cloud, that all the rays hitting the ice there reflected further away than point A.

Although point B is not represented here as close to suns L and M as to the center of the cloud, this does not prevent the rule I mentioned earlier, concerning the place where they should appear, from being observed.

Since the observer was closer to the arc LVM than to other parts of the circle, he must have perceived it as larger in comparison to the others than it actually was.

Besides, these clouds are undoubtedly never perfectly round, although they may appear so to the eye.

But there are two more remarkable things to note here.

1. The sun N, which was towards the west, had a changing and uncertain shape and emitted a thick tail of fire, NOP, which sometimes appeared longer and sometimes shorter.

This was because the sun’s image was distorted and irregular around N.

This happens often when:

• it floats on slightly trembling water or
• viewed through a pane of glass with uneven surfaces.

The ice was likely somewhat agitated at that spot.

Its surfaces were not as regular because it was beginning to melt there.

This is evidenced by the fact that:

• the white circle was broken and almost non-existent between M and N
• the sun N disappeared before the sun K
  • This seemed to strengthen as the other dissipated.

2. There were 2 halos around the sun C.

These were painted in the same colors as a rainbow. The inner one, DEF, was much more vivid and apparent than the outer one, GHI.

These were caused by refraction occurring not in the continuous ice where suns K and N were visible, but in another ice, divided into several small particles found above and below.

The same cause that formed an entire circle of ice from some of the outer parts of the cloud had arranged the neighboring parts to make these halos appear.

Therefore, if such halos are not always observed when multiple suns are seen, it is because the thickness of the cloud does not always extend beyond the circle of ice surrounding it, or it is so opaque and dark that they cannot be seen through it.

As for the location where these halos are seen, it is always around the true sun, and they have no connection with the suns that only appear to be there.

Although the two, K and N, intersect the outer halo and the white circle here, this happened by chance, and I am sure that the same was not seen in places a little away from Rome, where this same phenomenon was observed.

However, I do not think their center is always on the exact straight line drawn from the eye to the sun as is the case with a rainbow.

The difference is that water droplets, being round, always cause the same refraction regardless of their orientation, whereas ice particles, being flat, cause greater refraction the more obliquely they are viewed.

Since when they are formed by the swirling of wind around the circumference of a cloud, they must be oriented differently than when they are formed above or below, it can happen that two halos are seen together, one inside the other, approximately the same size but not exactly sharing the same center.

In addition to the winds surrounding this cloud, another wind can pass over or under it.

This forms yet another surface of ice. This causes further variations in this phenomenon.

The surrounding clouds or rain, if it falls, can also contribute.

The rays reflecting from the ice in one of these clouds toward the raindrops will create parts of rainbows, with very diverse orientations.

Similarly, spectators not directly under such a cloud, but on the side between several clouds, can see other circles and other suns.