The Basel solar appearances and dark globes

Witness account

The Basel broadside groups several unusual appearances: a reddened setting Sun on 27 July, a red sunrise on 28 July, and dark or reddish globes moving near the Sun on 7 August. The final episode is described in the language of conflict. Combining them into one precisely observed aerial battle erases the report's multiple dates and varied phenomena.

Public record

An original sheet survives in Zürich's Wickiana collection and is digitized by e-manuscripta. The Swiss National Museum explains its religious and political setting and emphasizes that the printer and illustrator were not themselves direct witnesses. Their work drew on reports from others. Like the Nuremberg sheet, it encourages religious interpretation and repentance.

Sources

• The celestial event over Basel in 1566, Swiss National Museum
• Seltzame gestalt ... MDLXVI, Basel broadside