ALSACAT-1979-12-31-SONDERNACH-1
This case had the notable advantage of having been the subject of two investigations, one by the local Gendarmeie, the other by the local ufologist Jacques Journot. This is not surprising because at that time local ufologists and Gendarmes worked very willingly together. The two reports, readable further down in this file, indicate the following.
The sighting took place from December 31, 1979 at 11 p.m., it lasted about 1 hour 15 minutes, until January 1, 1980 at about 12:30 a.m.
The witnesses are a 69-year-old man and his 70-year-old wife, who wished to remain anonymous.
The sighting took place at a place called "Landoffen", on the territory of the municipality of Sondernach, 4 km south-east of this municipality, at the chalet which was the secondary residence of the two witnesses, at an altitude of 840 meters. The surrounding, indicated the report of the Gendarmes, included only farm inns unoccupied at this time of the year and a few refuges and chalets.
The place offered a very nice view on the Munster valley and to the east towards the "Petit Ballon".
The Gendarmes explained that at the beginning of January 1980, a radio station announced that a U.F.O. was observed in a valley in the Vosges; their brigade was unaware of that.
Jacques Journot, investigator for the ufology journal Lumières Dans La Nuit, stated that the sighting had been mentioned on the Europe 1 radio station on Tuesday, January 1, 1980 - it was indeed the witnesses of this case who had called this radio station.
There had been searches, contacts with town halls, but in vain, no witness came forward. A call for witnesses was published in the two regional newspapers L'Alsace and the Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, by Jacques Journot; he was thus contacted by the two witnesses, and informed the Gendarmerie.
Jacques Journot and a Gendarme from Munster visited these witnesses on Friday January 18 and Saturday February 2, 1979. Hearing their story, the Gendarme decided to draw up a report of administrative information in order to inform the CNES and the GEPAN (Group for the Study of Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena, in charge of the question at that time.) Jacques Journot specifies that he heard, for the record, the witnesses independently of himself.
The Gendarmes indicate in their report that on January 31, 1979, around 11:15 p.m., Mrs. X, on leaving her kitchen, as she usually does, looked at the sky through the skylight of the door giving on the back of the chalet which is their second home, and she immediately saw "something abnormal". She alerted her husband, who came to see the thing.
They took their hunting binoculars (8 x 56), these being absolutely identical, and stood on the doorstep.
They told the Gendarmes that it was two lights, one big, one small, that "they were all that could be seen" (meaning you could not have missed them). The moon had passed around 9 p.m. from east to west, "so it wasn't that," they said. There was no star.
On the right was a large, very intense light, orange-yellow, like a bubbling fire, without a halo, almost oval, like a rugby ball flattened at the top and bottom.
To the left, but lower, just above the ground, was a small red light, small, but bigger than a star. After a while, from this red dot, serpentines, of yellow, orange and green color, came out, then a light which snaked in the direction of the big ball.
The Gendarmes give an "angle of vision" of 60° for the large ball, 30° for the red dot. In Jacques Journot's report, it is explained that by using the comparator, the following dimensions were given to the two phenomena seen without the binoculars:
Large ball: 20 (2° of arc) - in binoculars, larger than 20, half of the binocular.
Small ball: 2 (12' of arc).
The witnesses indicated that it was "difficult to assess a distance at night", but that referring to the passage of the cloud, the phenomenon must have been between 2.5 km and 3 km respectively for the red dot, and 1.3 km to 2 km for the luminous ball. It could then be balls with a size of 45 to 70 m and about 07 m, according to Journot.
The red dot emitted vertical and horizontal signals. It started with the vertical signals, kind of streamers that started from behind the red dot. They were more than twice the height of the big ball, were yellow (135 on the Pantone color chart), red (184), green (133). They were going up, down, to the right, between that red dot and the intense light.
At the end of the vertical signals which lasted about 10 to 20 seconds, there was the horizontal signal, also a kind of serpentine, which went in the direction of the big ball. It was four to five times bigger than the big ball. It was red (258 in the color chart, ended in a kind of hook.
The witnesses did not observe this continuously; they specified that they came out every ten minutes, that it was cold. The two lights were still in the same place. The wife had gone out again around half past midnight or 1 a.m., the sky was clear, she saw the stars but not the ball, neither the red dot nor the cloud, which had disappeared.
Jacques Journot indicates that there were no direct or secondary effects during the observations. The light from the big ball, although intense, did not hurt their eyes.
He notes all the same that that evening, the French TV broadcasts transmitted by a relay located in the North West of Munster were disrupted, on the three channels; that there were horizontal lines that prevented getting a correct image. The German TV channel(s) were not affected at all. The TV set worked fine before, and worked fine afterwards.
Jacques Journot indicated that the witnesses told him: "We looked at the moon the next evening there was absolutely no comparison with the phenomenon that we had observed the day before."
He specified that the wife wore glasses to read but saw very well from afar, that her husband did not wear glasses but saw less well from afar; both were very alert, physically and intellectually, looking younger than their age.
He specified that these are people were interested in everything related to nature, to the universe, they had traveled all over the world, visited 80 countries, and had never seen a similar phenomenon.
Journot specifies that the previous year, they had observed on several evenings with their binoculars, phenomenon located to the northeast above the ridge, quite far from them: a yellow-red dot, a little larger than a star, and luminous dots which left, horizontal, going in zig-zag: but it was nothing comparable with the observation of December 31, 1979, and for 5 or 6 months, they saw nothing particular.
Jacques Journot gave the weather conditions as a hazy sky, stars not visible, with scattered cloudy periods at times, more significant from 11 p.m. at 1200 meters, a wind speed of around 10 km/h, in the direction of South-South-West, and a temperature of around - 5° C.
The Gendarmes published as an attachment to their report several photos of the place with a representation of the phenomena observed. Their report was not made public, anonymized, until 2008. The photos can also be found in Jacques Journot's report published in Lumières Dans La Nuit #199 of November 1980, and further down in this file.
| Date: | December 31, 1979 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 11:15 p.m. |
| Duration: | 1 hour 15 minutes. |
| First known report date: | November 1980 |
| Reporting delay: | 1 year. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Sondernach |
| Place: | Witnesses chalet in mountain. |
| Latitude: | 47.981 |
| Longitude: | 7.081 |
| Uncertainty radius: |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 2 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 2 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | 69, 70 |
| Witness(es) types: | Couple. |
| Reporting channel: | Gendarmes and local ufologist. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | Secondary home, mountain chalet. |
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | No. |
| UFO departure observed: | No. |
| Entities: | No. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | Yes. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Puzzled. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Not the Moon. |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Possible extraterrestrial visitors. |
[Ref. gen1:] GENDARMERIE NATIONALE:
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GENDARMERIE NATIONALE GROUP OF THE COMPANY XXXX OF UNIT BRIGADE OF P.V. N° 81 / 1980 |
SHIPMENT SHEET CONSTITUTES WITH THE ATTACHMENTS IT LISTS THE RECORDED REPORT MADE AT THE UNIT UNDER NUMBER INDICATED OPPOSITE |
AFFAIR: UFObr> 01/31/1980 |
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OBSERVATION OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS.
RECIPIENTS Mr the RREFECT OF [-] AT [-] SEEN AND TRASMITTED BY: |
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OBSERVATION OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS
Observation made on 12/31/1979 from 11 p.m. to 1.1.80 at 12:30 a.m. (duration approximately 1 hour 15 minutes) at a place called [-], territory of the municipality of [-], by two people wishing to remain anonymous.
At the beginning of January 1980, the radio station [-] announced on its antenna that a U.F.O. was observed in the valley of [-].
The gendarmerie brigade of [-] is not aware of the facts.
Research is done, (Town Halls are contacted). They remain vain. The witnesses do not make themselves known.
An article is inserted in the newspapers, by Mr J[-], J[-] investigator with the review [-]. He is contacted by his [sic] people and gives us the information.
In the company of Mr J[-], we visit these witnesses. They give us all the information of the sighting. Due to the facts, we decide to draw up an administrative information report in order to inform the CNES and the GEPAN (group for the study of unidentified aerospace phenomena.)
II. INVESTIGATION.
THE FACTS: ON January 31, 1979 around 11.15 p.m., Mrs. X, on leaving her kitchen, looked at the sky through the skylight of the door leading to the back of the chalet (secondary residence) that she and her husband owns the place called "[-]" on the territory of the municipality of [-] valley of [-]. She immediately sees "something abnormal". She warns her husband. Both observe and declare:
"There were two lights, one large, one small. We could only see them. The moon had passed around 9 p.m., from east to west", "so it wasn't it. There was no star. To the right a large, very intense light, yellow-orange, like a bubbling fire, resembling a rugby ball flattened at the top and at the bottom. To the left, but lower, just above from the ground, a small red light, small, but larger than a star. After a while, from this red point, serpentines, of yellow, orange and green color, went out, then a light which snaked in the direction of the big ball.
The red dot emitted vertical and horizontal signals. It started with the vertical signals, kind of streamers that started from behind the red dot.
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PLACE OF THE WITNESSES: Locality [-], municipality of [-] secondary residence. This places the big ball at around 1,300 km and the red dot at 3,200 km. The altitude of the objects can be around 1,000 m and more for the big ball. The chalet is at an altitude of 840 m.
The places surrounding le petit ballon: only uninhabited farm inns at this time of the year and a few refuges and chalets.
The [-] and surrounding locations are combat locations from the 14/18 war.
We find numerous remains (gallery-trench shelters), however we are not aware of any mines.
ON THE OBJECTS (U.F.O.). (information given by Mr. J[-]).
The references (numbers) of the color chart are those of the pantone color chart.
Angle of vision: 60° for the large ball. 30° for the red dot.
dimensions of objects (according to the comparator) seen without binoculars.
large ball: 20 (2° of arc) in the binocular, larger than 20, half of the binocular.
small ball (point) 2 (12° of arc). The distance according to Mr. X being possibly 1.3 and 3.2 Km, the red ball could then have a diameter of approximately 40 m and 7 m for the small one.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: (BA [Aerial Base, 132 probably] information given by Mr. J[-]).
Hazy sky - stars not visible. Cloudy passage at times, more significant from 11 p.m. at around 1200 m. Wind speed 10 Km/h approximately SSW direction - temperature 6:5° approximately.
NOTE: The brigade of [-] - gendarme S[-], M[-]. can provide any GEPAN investigator with the identity of witnesses. These people are honorably known and their good faith cannot be doubted.
Done at [-], March 21, 1980
Constable S[-], M[-].
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Photo and photomontage below, overview of the [-].
The shots were taken from the very place of the observation.
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1st PHASE: The red colored dot emits vertical signals (coils). They start from behind the dot. They are more than double the height of the big ball. The color of the streamers is yellow-green- and orange.
Big ball like a rugby ball in yellow or orange, like a boiling fire.
2nd PHASE: At the end of the vertical signals (serpentines) which lasted 10 to 20 seconds, there was a kind of horizontal serpentine, which went in the direction of [-]. It ended with a hook.
[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
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Following the information heard on "EUROPE 1" on Tuesday, January 1, 1980, and the search for witnesses inserted in the newspapers "L'ALSACE" and "Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace", I was contacted by the witnesses of phenomena that occurred during the night of December 31, 1979 to January 1, 1980.
I went to the witnesses, accompanied by a gendarme from (68) MUNSTER, on Friday January 18 and Saturday February 2 (the Munster gendarme establishing a report, he saw the witnesses independent of myself).
WITNESSES: Two (anonymity requested) - ages: husband 69 years old - wife: 70 years old.
PROFESSION: Glassware-decoration industrialist in Strasbourg (his wife is a technical advisor in the company).
LOCATION: Place called "Landoffen", 4 km SE of (68) SONDERNACH (secondary residence of witnesses) - (IGN map 1 / 50,000th - MUNSTER - Sheet 36/1 9 - L 7 ° 5 - 148 ° - or Michelin map 87 - fold 18).
DATE AND TIME OF OBSERVATIONS: 12.31.79 from 11:15 p.m. to 1.01.80 at around 12:30 a.m. (observation time: approximately 1 h 15).
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Hazy sky - stars not visible. At times scattered cloudy periods, more important from 11 p.m. to approximately 1200 m - Wind speed: approximately 10 km / h, direction SSW - Temperature: - 5 ° C approximately.
THE FACTS:
As she left her kitchen, like she often does, Madame X looked at the sky through the skylight of the door leading to the back of the chalet. She saw "something abnormal" and called her husband. They took their hunting binoculars (8 x 56), which were absolutely identical.
Mr X told us: "The moon had passed around 9 p.m., from East to West. So it was not the moon. It could not have been that, moreover, because there were two lights, one big and one small. You could only see them.
No stars. On the right, a large, very intense light, yellow orange, like a boiling fire (no halo) almost oval (like a rugby ball flattened up and down. On the left, but lower, just above the pass, a small red light, small but bigger than a star. After a certain time, from this red dot started streamers of yellow, orange and green color. Then a light which meandered in the direction of the large ball. (Witnesses) were outside on the landing to watch these phenomena). It was cold. We went in. Every 10 minutes or so, we went out. These two lights were always in the same place. They did not move. They were still in the same place. Around half past midnight, a big cloud passed in front of the big ball. My wife came out again around 1 a.m. The sky was clear. She saw the stars but the ball, the red dot and the cloud had disappeared."
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FURTHER DETAILS:
1 - The red dot was emitting "vertical and horizontal signals" (sic)
a) The length of the vertical signals (coils) which started from behind this red dot) were more than double the height of the large colored yellow (135 in color chart) ball, red (184 in color chart), green (133 in the color chart). They went up, down to the right, between this red dot and the intense light.
b) The length of the horizontal signals (coils) (when there were these coils going out, there were SEVERAL VERTICAL COILS, but A SINGLE HORIZONTAL COIL, which started at the end of the vertical ones) were four to five times longer larger than the large ball, red in color (252 in the color chart).
c) The horizontal coil ended like a hook. The duration of these signals were 10 to 20 seconds.
2 - The viewing angle was: 60° for the large ball barely 30° for the red dot.
3 - Dimensions of "objects":
The two witnesses are unanimous in specifying, using the comparator, the following dimensions (seen without the binoculars):
- Large ball: 20 (2° of arc) - with binoculars, greater than 20, half of the binocular.
- Small ball: 2 (12' of arc).
4 - Distance from lights to witnesses: "It is difficult to assess a distance at night" (sic). Nevertheless, seen on the ground, by referring to the passage of the cloud, the phenomena must have been respectively between 2.5 km and 3 km for the red dot, and 1.3 km to 2 km for the luminous ball. It could then be balls of a size of 45 to 70 m AND about 07 m.
5 - Effect on the witnesses:
No direct or side effects during observations. Even the intense light (large ball) did not hurt their eyes. However, that evening: French T.V. was disrupted, on the three channels (color TV set). There were horizontal lines which prevented having a correct image. On the other hand, the German channel(s) were perfect. (French broadcasts are transmitted by a relay located to the N.W. of MUNSTER, German broadcasts coming directly from the R.F.A. [Germany]). The TV set worked very well before, and actually works very well now.
6 - a) "The effect of the full moon seen in the mountains (PL on 02/1/80) (their chalet is located at an altitude of 800 m) is different than when seen in the plain" (sic).
b) "We looked at the moon the next evening there was absolutely no comparison with the phenomena we had observed the day before".
c) Mrs X wears glasses to read - She can see very well from a distance.
Mr X does not wear glasses but sees less well in the distance.
They are very alert, both physically and intellectually. They look younger than their age.
d) These people are interested in everything that has to do with nature, the universe. They have traveled all over the world, visited 80 countries. They have never seen such phenomena.
e) Last year, several evenings, with their binoculars, they saw phenomena located to the NE above the ridge, quite far from them, a yellow-red dot, a little larger than a star, and luminous dots which left, horizontally, going in zig-zag. (Nothing comparable with the vision of 12/31/79 in the evening). For 5 or 6 months, there is nothing visible anymore.
f) The place where the chalet is located is quite isolated from any surrounding dwelling. Apart from a farm inn located below (it was unoccupied that night) a chalet above, where no one was there on December 31 as well. Very nice view over the valley of MUNSTER and to the east towards the "Petit Ballon."
CONCLUSIONS:
These witnesses seem to me to be in good faith. They did not seek publicity. The fact of having telephoned EUROPE 1 was for them with the aim of "knowing" and of being able to help "those who seek to know" what these phenomena are, because on the TF1 newscast on January 1 at 1 p.m., what struck them is to have seen, behind the journalist, the headline of the newspaper "France Soir Dimanche": "Martians were seen in the Seine et Marne." They telephoned the weather station in STRASBOURG - ENTZHEIM (on the evening of 12/31 at 11:15 p.m.) who replied that they did not have the means to "see the phenomena and that they had to warn the MUNSTER gendarmerie." They did not do this "so as not to disturb at that hour, because they would certainly have taken it for a joke, especially that evening in question!"
Their reading is mainly at the level of business newspapers, knowledge books, on travel, animals, everything that has to do with nature. No science fiction reading.
They did not drink that night, other than half a bottle of champagne and a little red wine (for the husband).
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:
13847: 1979/12/31 23:20 75 7:07:00 E 47:57:00 N 3333 WEU FRN HRH 6:7
LANDOFFEN,FR:2 OBS/BINOCS:BIG BLOB/LITE PLANE:SML LNES EXIT+REVIRAGE/SNAKY TRAJs
Réf#194 LUMIERES dans la NUIT.(LDLN France) No. 199 : HABITANTS
[Ref. gei1:] GROUPE D'ETUDES ET D'INFORMATIONS SUR LES PHENOMENES AEROSPATIAUX NON IDENTIFIES (G.E.I.P.A.N.):
| MUNSTER (68) 1979 | |
| Observed on: | 12/31/1979 |
| Region: | Alsace |
| Department: | Rhin (Haut) |
| Class: | C |
| Summary: | Observation of 2 light sources. |
| Description: |
On December 31, 1979 (and not January, as stated in the minutes of the "Investigation" paragraph) between 11:15 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., two witnesses observed two particular lights in the sky. These sometimes seem connected by a set of very bright coils of several colors. The observation was not continuous and the phenomenon disappeared completely around 1 a.m.. No other testimony was collected on this phenomenon for which we lack data. |
| Report: | None. |
GEIPAN published a table "Details of the testimony":
| Witness | |
| Date of the observation | 12/13/1979 |
| Document number | |
| Age | Not specified |
| Profession | Not-Specified |
| Sex | Male |
| Reaction | Active Curiosity |
| Credibility | Normal Credibility |
| Conditions | |
| Environment | Home |
| Weather conditions | Clear Sky |
| Hour of the observation | Numbered: 10 p.m. 00:00 |
| Reference frame | Sky or clouds |
| Distance between phenomenon and witness | Not-Specified |
| Start of the observation | Start of observation by witness |
| End of the observation | End of observation by phenomenon |
| Localization | |
| Angle of the site | Not-Specified |
| Direction of observation | Geographic landmarks (Name of city, village, numbered, etc.) |
| Heading | Not-Specified |
| Trajectory | Arabesques |
| Nature of the observation | Descriptive terms (lights, etc) |
| Characteristic of the observation | Multiple |
| Global shape | Oval, rugby ball |
| Color | Yellow;Orange, fire;Green |
| Apparent size | Not-Specified |
| Apparent speed | Not-Specified |
| Noise | No noise |
| Effects on the environment | Not-Specified |
| Number | 2 |
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN - "BASE OVNI FRANCE":
General features
| Num Base: | 2513 |
| Department: | Haut Rhin (68) |
| Place of observation: | Sondernach |
| Latitude: | 47.983 |
| Longitude: | +7.083 |
| Date of observation: | December 31, 1979 |
| Hour: | 23:15 hours |
| Duration (HH:MM:SS): | 01:15:00 |
| Weather: | Sparse clouds |
| Type of observation: | Visual: Distant |
| Nbr of witness(es): | 2 |
| Official investigation: | No |
Features of the object
| Nbr of object: | 2 |
| Type of object: | Ovoid |
| Size: | 2 degrees of arc |
| Color: | Several colors |
| Luminosity: | Brilliant |
| Visual characteristics: | beam of light |
| Speed: | Motionless |
| Movement/Displacement: | Not specified |
| Object on the ground: | No |
| Instantaneous disappearance: | No |
Type d'effets constatés
| Physical effects: | radio or telly interferences, |
Observation
A couple observed from their chalet at a place called Landoffen two objects. The first on the right a large orange light yellow ovoid in upright position but flattened on the top. The latter is stationary. On the left, but a little further down is a little red ball from the latter "light coils" leave toward the top of the ball of orange and yellow-green colors, then another towards the other object. The whole happens in 10 to 20 seconds. The smaller 12 minutes of arc is the largest object 2° of arc. Around midnight and half a large cloud passed in front of the largest object, at 1am nothing was visible anymore. Image disturbance on French TV channels while the German channels remain perfect.
Sources
Lumières dans la Nuit issue 199
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
31 December 1979 23:20
Landoffen, France
Big blob of light hovers, smaller nocturnal lights exit and return on snaky trajectories.
Hovering objects were observed. Several lights were observed by two witnesses in a residential area for over 75 minutes.
Hynek rating: NL
Vallee rating: MA1
The sources are indicated as: "Lumieres dans la Nuit, Lumieres dans la Nuit"; and "Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002".
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
31
between 11:15 p.m. and 0:30 In Munster (Haut Rhin), 2 witnesses observe in the sky 2 particular lights. These seem sometimes connected by a set of bright coils of plural colors. The observation was not continuous and the phenomenon disappeared completely at about 1:00 a.m.
The source is indicated as "SEPRA: UAP of C type".
[Ref. spa1:] "SPICA" UFOLOGY SSOCIATION:
| City | Date and hour of observation | General shape Identification |
General color Hypothesis |
Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SONDERNACH | Monday 31 December 1979 at 11:15 p.m. | saucer, rugby ball (3D) Unidentified |
information not communicated None |
Unsolved -lack of info |
The same case was recorded twice, with different locations:
| City | Date and hour of observation | General shape Identification |
General color Hypothesis |
Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MUNSTER | Monday 31 December 1979 at 11:15 p.m. | Luminous trace Unidentified |
Several colors None |
Unsolved -lack of info |
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There is no trace of a "Landoffen" towards Sondernach. This may have been a bad spelling for "Landhoffen", a far more Alsatian word, but I cannot find such a place either - this does not imply it does not exist. There is a village named Sundhoffen near Sondernach.
I think the place was probably near the Landersen farm inn, located in the Petit-Ballon Mounds at an altitude of 850 m, south-south-east of Sondernach, next to which there are several chalets. The distance, by road, between this place and Sondernach is indeed 4.3 kilometers.
The observed phenomenon is of the highest strangeness to me. No natural phenomenon or earth-made flying machine to my knowledge has ever produced such effects.
Possible extraterrestrial visitors.
* = 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 | February 16, 2023 | Creation, [gen1], [ldl1], [lhh1], [gei1], [lcn1], [uda1], [jbu1], [spa1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 16, 2023 | First published. |
