1566 Basel Celestial Phenomenon
1566 broadsheet account of dark spheres over Switzerland
| 1566 Basel Celestial Phenomenon | |
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| Date | August 1566 |
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| Location | Basel, Switzerland |
| Type | Sighting |
| Status | Likely misidentification |
A published broadsheet described numerous large black spheres moving rapidly and appearing to collide in the sky above Basel, some reportedly turning red and fiery before vanishing.
Assessment
As with the similar 1561 Nuremberg Celestial Phenomenon five years earlier, historians of astronomy generally attribute the account to an unusual atmospheric optical display, though the two events are sometimes cited together by UFO proponents as evidence of a broader early-modern pattern of aerial phenomena.
[1]See also
References
- ^ Wikipedia contributors, “Basel celestial phenomenon” (secondary historical summary of the original 1566 broadsheet).