'Amazing light' on 4th December 1749.

[sheeprug]

Whilst doing some unrelated research on the online British Newspaper Archive I stumbled across the following article from the 16^th December 1749 issue of The Ipswich Journal.

A letter from Stoke, Gloucestershire, of Dec. 4^th gives the following account.  “Last Thursday sennight between five and six o'clock in the evening, it being then pretty dark, many of the inhabitants of this neighbourhood, and other parts of the county, as well as some travellers on the road, were very much surprised at a sudden mighty opening of the heavens, northward, in the midst of which, such an amazing light appeared, as rather surpassed that the sun so that, for short space of time, it looked as if the sun had shined out in its full lustre and glory : and it was equally as astonishing behold this prodigious opening to closed again, and shut in the bright illumination that appeared from it. This had no resemblance with the northern lights."

I can’t find any other references to celestial events observed on that date, so has anybody heard of it before or have any thoughts on what it might have been?  

[Paul M]

Sounds like a bolide being verbosely over described by a non technical scribe!