DISPUTEDCRAFT · PRINTS & COINS
The Nuremberg Sky Battle
1561 · Nuremberg · Germany
WHAT IT IS
At dawn on 14 April 1561, the people of Nuremberg reported spheres, crosses and tubes fighting in the sky, and something crashing to earth in smoke. A real report from a real morning.
THE ALIEN READING
Many witnesses, a date and a place, and a broadsheet printed for the city within days. Ufologists read an aerial battle between craft, with one shot down.
WHAT THE RECORD SAYS
The usual explanation is a sun-halo display (sun dogs, arcs and pillars) at sunrise, told as a divine omen in a religious news sheet. Researchers note the text's internal inconsistencies and its edifying purpose.
WHERE IT STANDS
Disputed. What it shows, or how old it is, is still argued over by specialists.
STATUS IS OUR CURRENT ASSESSMENT, NOT A VERDICT · REVIEWED 3 OCT 2026
THE RECORD
- DATE
- 1561
- PLACE
- Nuremberg · Germany
- MADE BY
- Hanns Glaser · Zentralbibliothek Zürich
- MEDIUM
- Prints & coins
- TECHNICAL
- Hand-coloured woodcut broadsheet · Wickiana collection, Zentralbibliothek Zürich
MORE FROM VOL. II · BEFORE THE CAMERA
FOLIO 18 · DISPUTED
The Black Spheres over Basel
1566
FOLIO 21 · UNEXPLAINED
The Red Flame over Nanjing
1892
FOLIO 22 · EXPLAINED
The 'Flying Saucer' Jeton
c. 1656
FOLIO 19 · DISPUTED
The Hollow Ship of 1803
1803 story · late Edo copy
FOLIO 20 · DISPUTED
The Hollow Ship, Bakin's Version
1825
FOLIO 13 · EXPLAINED
The Palenque 'Astronaut'
683 CE