The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 1-Nov-54-Compiègne.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In an article about the flying saucers in the regional newspaper L'Oise-Matin for November 3, 1954, it is reported, among other observations, that on November 1, 1954, residents of the top of the rue de la Justice in Compiègne "saw a cigar which remained visible, according to witnesses, from 8:55 p.m. to 9:19 p.m."
[Ref. lon1:] NEWSPAPER "L'OISE-MATIN":
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The flying saucers continue their round. For the first time their presence was reported in India in the region of Calcutta, where one saw above the suburbs "a brilliantly illuminated circular object". Another such object was seen some 320 km away.
In Italy
If we are to believe the words of an Italian peasant woman from Piggi-di-Ambra, near Arezzo, Martians appeared to her while she was going to mass.
The woman, Mrs. Rosa Lotti, 40, who recounted her encounter to the police, clarified that the two beings, measuring about one meter, were dressed in a kind of diving suit and wore a leather helmet that partly concealed their face.
In the Oise
In the Oise, "mysterious" craft continue to appear.
Very recently, a farmer from Ressons-sur-Matz who came to bring fodder to his oxen parked in a field, was astonished that these, instead of being grouped together as usual, were dispersed. It was then that he saw an unusual "object" in the meadow. The farmer ran to his car to pick up witnesses. When they returned, the craft was no longer in the grass. However, the farmer claims to have seen it rise vertically. In addition, burn marks were then visible on the grass, where the craft had landed.
In Compiègne
Monday evening, residents of the top of the rue de la Justice saw a cigar which remained visible, according to witnesses, from 8:55 p.m. to 9:19 p.m.
For his part one of our collaborators saw the same night, around 2 a.m., an object leaving behind a long luminous trail.
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The rue de la Justice in Compiègne is oriented exactly North - South.
The duration of the observation obviously suggests some astronomical explanation is possible. The best candidate here is the planet Mars, which at 8:55 p.m. that night was (forward-right looking south from the street), at 214° 54'. Its height was quite low, at 14° 27'. Mars will be set at 10:57 p.m., at the end of the observation time, 09:19 p.m., it is only at 12° of elevation, thus being possibly hidden by the roofs of the buildings.
Mars was 148.72 million km from Earth (an average distance), but with 84.94% of its surface illuminated, it must have been clearly visible.
On the other hand, "cigar" would be a weird term to describe Mars.
The Moon is not totally excluded. It was almost in the same direction as Mars, at 233° 43' but already very low at 20:55: 1° 24' - so probably already hidden from view. It is crescent-shaped, so in principle rather recognizable.
Towards the North or other directions there were stars, of course, but nothing very remarkable.
Thus:
Possible astronomical misinterpretation, Mars or Moon.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Compiègne, Oise, multiple, rue de la Justice, cigar, duration
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 8, 2021 | First published. |
