Dark spheres over Basel
Document scan. Text by Samuel Koch, printed by Samuel Apiarius in 1566. The illustration belongs to the historical publication and is not an instrument record.
Public domain
· Original image source · Image licence
A black-and-white broadsheet describes unusual appearances around the Sun and dark spheres. Zoom into the original sheet and follow the boundary between reported experience and illustration.
- World
- Earth
- Location
- Switzerland
- Case date or period
- July–August 1566
Several dates, one published account
The surviving sheet describes solar appearances and dark spheres observed in late July and early August 1566 over Basel. Read its separate dates carefully rather than turning the sheet into a single modern-style encounter report.
Images carry their own language
The scene arranges a city, observers, a Sun and dark shapes into a legible print. The layout tells us how the publisher chose to communicate the account. It should not be assumed that every shape is drawn to scale or located at a measured distance.
Compare two historical skies
Compare this sheet with the Nuremberg account. Look for shared printing conventions and differences in wording, dates and composition. Similar-looking artwork is a starting point for research, not proof that the same physical event occurred in both cities.