A Spherical UFO Above Lake Geneva in 1899

In early January 1899, several residents of the small town of Rolle, Switzerland, observed for several minutes a mysterious unidentified flying object...

Around five o'clock in the morning, a dozen people were on the town's dock in Rolle. A huge luminous ball then appeared in the sky. It hovered at a height of about 400 meters and was about 300 meters from the shore, above Lake Geneva.

The UFO seemed to be approaching the water and cast a silvery reflection on the surface. The witnesses thought it was going to fall into the lake. They were preparing to launch rescue boats to aid any potential victims. However, at that moment, the strange sphere gained altitude before disappearing into the clouds.

What could it be?

Légende - Photo
Alexey M., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolle#/media/File:Rolle-town.JPG

Sources

• Un phénomène météorologique, Le Courrier de la Lozère, January 15, 1899