SS Shahian Circular Object Sighting
The SS Shahian Circular Object Sighting occurred on January 5, 1880, when Commander Ari Harris of the SS Shahian observed a milky white circular object in the sky off the Malabar Coast of India, on a clear night with no moon. The object resembled a nebula and emitted wave-like pulses of light. Harris stopped the vessel to attempt to understand the anomalous object. The case represents one of the Maritime Light Wheel category of sightings in which the phenomenon appears clearly aerial — above rather than beneath the ocean surface.
| Date | 1880-01-05 |
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Incident Description
Commander Harris and the ship's third officer were on the bridge at approximately 10:00 p.m. Conditions: clear night, calm waters, stars visible, no moon. Harris observed:
- A milky white circle in the sky
- Described as resembling "the nebula sometimes seen in the heavens"
- Emitting waves of light
- Approaching the vessel
Harris stopped the ship to observe the object, attempting to understand its nature. The crew's response — stopping a vessel at sea to examine an anomalous aerial phenomenon — reflects the depth of the impression the object made on experienced maritime officers.
Relationship to Maritime Light Wheel Phenomenon
The Shahian case is notable as one of two 1880 encounters (alongside the SS Patna Light Wheel Sighting) documenting the Maritime Light Wheel phenomenon from different geographic locations — the Patna in the Persian Gulf, the Shahian off the Indian subcontinent's western coast. The aerial nature of the Shahian encounter (described as in the sky, resembling a celestial nebula) parallels the 1910 Dutch Steamship Valentin Hovering Object Sighting in the South China Sea, in which a similar rotating horizontal wheel was observed hovering above the water. Together these aerial cases establish that the Maritime Light Wheel phenomenon was observed in both submerged and airborne configurations across the same historical period.