fax

fireball phenomenon

Interim illud existimo eiusmodi ignes existere aere vehementius trito, cum inclinatio eius in alteram partem facta est et non cessit, sed inter se pugnavit; ex hac vexatione nascuntur trabes et globi et faces et ardores.

‘For the time being, I guess this: fires of this sort come into existence because the atmosphere undergoes severe friction when there has been a tilting of it to one side and there is no yielding, only internal struggle. From this vexation are produced fiery shapes, the so-called Boards, Balls, Torches, and Blazes.’

quid vero Phoebi fax, tristis nuntia belli, quae magnum ad columen flammato ardore volabat, praecipitis caeli partis obitusque petessens?

‘Then did that dolorous herald of War, the torch of Apollo, Mount all aflame to the dome of the sky, to the zenith of heaven, Seeking a place on the westerly slopes, where the sun has its setting;’

et quos Delphinus iaculatur quattuor ignes Deltotonque tribus facibus, similique nitentem luce Aquilam et flexos per lubrica terga dracones.

‘and the fires which the Dolphin emits from its four torches and the Triangle from its three; and, as shining with similar brightness, the Eagle and the snakes with their slippery coils’