ALSACAT-1952-05-00-STRASBOURG-1
The regional newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace of May 9, 1952, reported, in its Strasbourg news page and without specifying a date or time, that three people, including one who was walking along the Quai des Bateliers, saw what they took to be a flying saucer.
The next day, "someone" had alerted the Strasbourg observatory, but they had seen nothing.
The newspaper explained that the "flying saucer" was actually a snow-white, fluffy cloud which, each time it was caught in the beam of a "spotlight," transformed into "a round and flat thing" that moved, "a saucer of sorts," according to the observers, who were misled by appearances.
This game of hide-and-seek ended when the cloud, "trying to escape its pursuer," dissipated.
| Date: | Beginning of May, 1952 |
|---|---|
| Time: | ? |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | May 9, 1952 |
| Reporting delay: | 2 days, days. |
| Department: | Bas-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Strasbourg |
| Place: | From the quai des Bateliers. |
| Latitude: | 48.580 |
| Longitude: | 7.753 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 700 m. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | Adults or aged. |
| Witness(es) types: | ? |
| Reporting channel: | Newspaper "Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace". |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | City. |
| Visibility conditions: | Probable night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| Entities: | No. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Flying saucer. |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Negative case, cloud lighted by projector. |
[Ref. dnal:] NEWSPAPER "DERNIERES NOUVELLES D'ALSACE":
|
- I saw a flying saucer...
- Me too...
Never two without three... Indeed, the third member of this group of nighttime strollers who were peacefully walking along the Quai des Bateliers had also spotted a saucer—of the flying type.
The next day, the Strasbourg observatory was alerted, but they hadn't detected anything, hadn't seen a thing. And for good reason...
Because the so-called flying saucer was in fact nothing more than a snow-white, fluffy cloud drifting across the sky, playing hide-and-seek with a spotlight.
And each time the spotlight caught up with the cloud, it transformed into "a round, flat thing" that moved, "a saucer of sorts," affirmed the observers, misled by appearances.
This game of hide-and-seek could have gone on much longer, had the cloud not dissipated in an attempt to escape its pursuer.
... And with it, the mysterious "saucer" vanished.
|
This is a "negative case."
In ufology, a "negative case" refers to an observation that was explained by an ordinary cause, either by the witnesses themselves, or quickly explained by an ordinary cause without the intervention of ufologist investigators.
Ufologists to often tend to neglect such cases, likely considering them a waste of time. However, these cases are of great interest because they help us understand various causes of misidentification that should not be overlooked, at the risk of losing expertise.
Negative case, cloud lighted by projector.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | July 4, 2025 | Creation, [dna1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | July 4, 2025 | First published. |
