The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 23-sep-54-Lux.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In his 1958 book on the 1954 French wave, the pioneering ufologist Aimé Michel indicated that a witness who wished to remain anonymous reported the following, which would have been confirmed by the testimonies of a large number of villagers.
On Thursday, September 23, 1954, around 5 p.m., in Lux, in the Côte-d'Or department, looking mechanically at the sky, his attention was attracted by a shining object that sparkled in the sun.
He used binoculars and found that it was a metal sphere with very sharp contour, which "moved in a small circle, lower than the clouds." This lasted about half an hour. At times, a red gleam seemed to come out of the craft, maybe a reflection of the sun.
There was a very fast "Second phase, very fast: in a one minute interval, all was finished. The 'ball' suddenly elongated itself and literally spat out two other identical balls which placed themselves in straight line, spaced by an interval equal to the triple of their diameter. Then one of them disappeared from our eyes, and the two others sprang in the sky in two different directions. I have been able to follow one of the two spheres until it became a tiny dot, and disappeared without leaving any trace."
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel indicates that a witness who wished to remain anonymous made the following account which Michel said to have been confirmed by testimonys of a great number of villagers. The observation took place on Thursday, September 23, at Lux, in the département of Côte-d'Or:
"At approximately 05:00 P.M., as it happened that I looked at the sky, my attention was drawn by a shining object which scintillated with the sun. Using binoculars, I noted that this object was a metal sphere, with very distinct contours. It evolved in a restricted circle, lower than the clouds. This display lasted approximately half an hour. At some times, a red gleam seemed to come out of the craft, perhaps a reflection of the sun. Second phase, very fast: in a one minute interval, all was finished. The "ball" suddenly elongated itself and literally spat out two other identical balls which placed themselves in straight line, spaced by an interval equal to the triple of their diameter. Then one of them disappeared from our eyes, and the two others sprang in the sky in two different directions. I have been able to follow one of the two spheres until it became a tiny dot, and disappeared without leaving any trace."
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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September 23, 1954
05:00 p.m.: Lux (Côte-d'Or): lumin.sph.gives birth to 2 others
[Ref. mcs1:] MICHEL CARROUGES:
The author indicates that on September 23, 1954, in Lux in the Côte-d'Or, at about 5 p.m., a person provided with binoculars observed a metallic reddish sphere which circled the sky, during half an hour.
The ball suddenly "lengthened" and "spat" two other identical balls, then all the three disappeared in three different directions, this second phase lasting only one minute.
Many witnesses attended the display.
The author notes that the lengthening could habe been the change of orientation of an object in the shape of a cigar seen upfront initially.
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| 09 23 54 (17) | Luc [sic] Cote d'Or (21) | M | 101X2 |
[Ref. via2:] "VIMANA 21" UFOLOGY BULLETIN:
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54 09 23 / LUX / 5 PM / DD / P /
Mr. X observed for 1/2 hour, a metallic sphere with very sharp outlines. At times, a red light seemed to come out of the craft. Then, the latter elongated and literally spat two other identical balls.
(Source: M.O.C. - Aimé Michel, p. 95-96)
[Ref. via3:] "VIMANA 21" UFOLOGY MAGAZINE - ADRUP:
This magazine listed this case:
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54 09 23 17H DD Lux |
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
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Lux (Cote-d'Or Department) 12 miles from Dijon.
At 5:00 p.m. September 23rd an observer in Lux, France, was fascinated by a sphere in the air, a shiny, metallic-like thing that was flying in an orbit near some clouds above the town. This circling continued for an estimated 30 minutes, a curious show but one that did not disqualify a weather balloon explanation, however something very strange took place.
The object became oblong in shape and split into a trio of metallic-looking round bodies. The three objects then formed a line, and then to the witnesses' astonishment, one ball abruptly vanished while its two companions zipped away in different directions. Weather balloons? The witness thought otherwise. 112.
The source "112" is noted as "Michel, Aime. Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery. p.69."
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3821: 1954/09/23 17:00 5 5:13:00 E 47:28:00 N 3333 WEU FRN CDO 9:6
LUX,21,FR:METAL SPHERE CIRCLES:DIVIDES/3:1 PART FADES:2 GO OFF SEPARATELY
RefN° 49 MICHEL,Aime: FS & STRAIGHT LINE TH: Page No. 69 : PAYS DE FERMES
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the "Côte d'or" in Lux on September 23, 1954 at 17:00 hours "A witness leisurely looking at the sky observes a brilliant object scintillating with the sun. With binoculars, he notes that the object is a sphere of metallic appearance with very clear contours, evolving under the clouds in circles. Sometimes a red gleam seemed to come out of the object. Then very quickly the ball lengthens and seems to spit two four identical balls which put themselves in a formation. One of the three balls disappears and the two others jump in the sky in different directions."
The source is indicated as "M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 23 September 1954 at 17:00 in Lux, France "Metallic sphere circles, divides into 3. one part vanishes, two go off in separate directions. Explanation: Planet."
And: "Unusual objects were sighted, that had unconventional appearance and performance. Three metallic shifting-shape objects were observed by numerous witnesses on a farm for 30 minutes."
The sources are indicated as Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Bowen, Charles, The Humanoids: FSR Special Edition No. 1, FSR, London, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case twice:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Lux | France | 17.00 | ||||||
| 19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Lux | France | 17.00 |
[Ref. aln1:] ALAIN LEQUIEN:
The author indicates that in Lux, on September 23, 1954, around 5 p.m., a witness mechanically looked at the sky and observed a shining object scintillating in the sun.
Using binoculars, he noticed that it was a metallic-looking sphere with very clear contours, moving under the clouds in circles. Sometimes a red glow seemed to come out of the object.
Quickly, the ball lengthened and appeared to spit out two more identical balls. One of them disappeared while the other two soared into the sky in different directions.
The author says that "no known investigation has been carried out."
He indicates as source the book of Aimé Michel [aml1].
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Possible extraterrestrial craft.
Whereas the first phase may suggest a balloon with its reflections, the second phase cannot really match that.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Lux, Côte-d'Or, anonymous, multiple, object, bright, shiny, binoculars, sphere, ball, metallic, manoeuvers, glow, red, split, separation, two, three, fast
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 16, 2003 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 28, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | January 27, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | April 21, 2019 | Additions [via2], [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet.". |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | February 21, 2021 | Addition [aln1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | March 14, 2021 | Additions [gqy1], [lgs1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | May 10, 2022 | Additions [gep1]. |
