The multiplied reflections of the Sun reminded me of a famous incident that supposedly occurred in the skies over Nuremberg, Germany in 1561. It is said that cylindrical objects appeared in the sky, from which emerged numerous round objects of different colors. Various other forms resembling weapons also appeared and they all began to maneuver in a manner that suggested they were engaged in battle, in consequence of which the people were very much frightened. Below is a woodcut illustrating the event executed by Hans Glaser in 1566.
The discs in the illustration are tantalizingly similar to the reflections in the photograph. Could they have been optical illusions of a similar nature, somehow created in the open air by rare atmospheric conditions? The woodcut suggests a very exciting scene, making it look as if countless UFOs were whizzing around at high speed, but of course word-of-mouth transmissions of extraordinary phenomena have a way of outgrowing their original frames. If multiple images of the Sun were somehow projected, say onto a layer of mist at high altitude, discolored and distorted by refraction and moving and changing as the mist moved, then that would be more than enough to start the mythmaking process going. As the story was told and retold over days and weeks, spreading from town to town and acquiring various enhancements and exaggerations with each retelling, a small number of slow-moving, roundish reflections and patchesof glowing mist around the sun could easily have been transformed into a much larger number and variety of shapes moving at high speeds.
Not saying that's what must have happened -- and I'd love it if this strange event were somehow proved to a genuine mystery, and a swarm of UFOs really filled the skies over Nuremberg one day in the 16th century; but as the saying goes, extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.
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