Many See Strange 'Airship.'

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 27, 1913:
Nocturnal Visitor Reported from Various Parts of England.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    LONDON, Thursday, Feb. 27.— Further statements are made regarding alleged airship lights seen over various parts of England on Tuesday night.
    According to some accounts the shape of the vessel was discerned and the noise of its motor was heard.
    The reports come largely from Yorkshire, from the south coast, and, finally, from Liverpool, and it is pointed out that the very multiplicity of the reports tends to discredit them and strengthen the suggestion that observers have been deceived by the planet Venus.
    Sir Norman Lockyer, the eminent astronomer, in discussing the subject says he is unable to understand how a star could be mistaken for an airship. Although he is not prepared to believe that such a vessel is actually scouring the country at night, he points out that to the naked eye Venus seems stationary. Observers of the mysterious light, however, maintain that it executes circles, finally disappearing northward at great speed.
    With regard to the assumption that the lights belong to a German airship or airships, The Cologne Gazette last night, in what is regarded as an officially inspired article, declares that it would be impossible for any German airship to travel to England and back without detection, and says that if the stories are repeated there is grave fear that they may prove a menace to Anglo-German relations.