ALSACAT-1979-01-15-COLMARMUNSTER-1
Heading "A UFO in the sky of Colmar?", the regional newspaper Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace for January 16, 1979, reported that a resident of Munster, Jean Keigler, working in Germany, had seen "yesterday morning" a "disturbing phenomenon".
Like every morning, he left his home around 5:45 a.m. driving his Renault 4. He said:
"It was near Muhlele, on CD 417, between Munster and Colmar, that "it" started. To the right of the road, just near my car, I saw a kind of elliptical disc of bright yellow color that seemed to move at my speed. It seemed to be about 500 meters from the road. At this hour, it was still dark..."
"It wasn't a plane or a helicopter either."
"Arrived at my place of work, in Weisweil, I called on a work colleague to show him the phenomenon. He had never seen this either..."
Mr. Keigler went to report his discovery of the gendarmes, who were said to be opening an investigation.
| Date: | January 15, 1979 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 05:45 a.m. |
| Duration: | 40 minutes or more. |
| First known report date: | January 16, 1979 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours, one day. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | From Gunsbach to Weiswal, Germany. |
| Place: | In car, driving. |
| Latitude: | 48.041 |
| Longitude: | 7.174 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 1 km. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 1 |
| Witness(es) ages: | Adult. |
| Witness(es) types: | Man. |
| Reporting channel: | To the gendarmes and the regional newspaper DNA. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | In car, driving. |
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| Entities: | No |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Probable Moon. |
[Ref. dna1:] NEWSPAPER "DERNIERES NOUVELLES D'ALSACE":
|
COLMAR. - C'est un phénomène troublant dont fut témoin hier matin un habitant de Munster.
Ce dernier, M. Jean Keigler, travaille en Allemagne. Comme tous les matins, il a quitté son domicile hier vers 5 h 45 ou volant de sa Renault 4: "C'est à hauteur de Muhlele, sur le CD 417, entre Munster et Colmar, que "ça" a commencé. A droite de la route, juste à hauteur de ma voiture, j'ai aperçu une sorte de disque elliptique de couleur jaune vif qui semblait se déplacer à ma vitesse. Il semblait être à environ 500 mètres de la route. A cette heure, il faisait encore nuit..." "Ce n'était pas non plus un avion ou un hélicoptère", explique M. Keigler.
"Arrivé sur mon lieu de travail, à Weisweil, j'ai interpellé un collègue de travail pour lui montrer le phénomène. Lui non plus n'avait jamais vu celà..."
M. Keigler a été faire part de sa découverte oux gendarmes. Ils vont ouvrir une enquête.
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
|
| CASE Nr | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | HOUR | PLACE | ZIP CODE | CREDIBILITY SOURCES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 886 | CE0 | 01/15/1979 | in the morning | b. Colmar and Munster | 68 | D Nostra 404 p. 17 |
[Ref. eae1:] ERIC ANTOINE:
Note by the investigator.
[...] after research in the archives of "L'Alsace", several observations took place between this period: (source: Nostra + L'Alsace).
[... Other cases...]
d) January 15, 1979. Mr. Jean KEIGLER works in Germany. Very early in the morning, he drove by car between Colmar and Munster as he does every day. "It was then," he recounted, "that suddenly, to the right of the road, just level with my vehicle, I saw some sort of bright yellow elliptical disc moving at my speed. It seemed to be at about five hundred meters from the road." After having escorted a few moments the motorist the strange apparatus moved away. (Full articles).
[... Other cases...]
Although some of these observations were later explained, [...]
|
The witness gave the place where the sighting started as "at the height of Muhlele"; there is no "Muhlele" village or city, but I found a "rue du Muhlele" (street of the Mulhele) in Gunsbach, in the Munster valley, about 2 km East of Munster where the witness was domiciled.
As we are told that he showed the phenomenon to a colleague when he arrived at his workplace in Weiswal (Germany), we understand that the sighting took place on a car trip of more than 40 kilometers...
|
Obviously, this makes me think of a "follower moon", a misinterpretation known in ufology, or which should be known. So I checked this possibility.
The position of the phenomenon is indicated as to the right of the car, therefore generally the South.
At the start of the observation, since leaving the valley of Munster, the Moon was indeed in the sky at 05:45 a.m..
It was at 252 °, that is to say behind the witness's car going generally towards the East-North-East (of course at the beginning of the observation he could see it on his right at one time, the road having turns).
It was at a height of 31°, which allows to see it already at the exit of the valley of Munster. It set at 09:06 a.m., it was lower and lower in the sky.
It was a near full moon, with 96.8% of its surface illuminated by the sun, which is consistent with the witness's words referring to a "sort of elliptical disk."
Probable Moon.
* = 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 | June 29, 2021 | Creation, [dna1], [mft1], [aea1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | June 29, 2021 | First published. |
