ALSACAT-2004-07-00-OBERNAI-1
In the 2000s, the Swiss ufology group G.R.E.P.I. collected testimonies that were sent to them by email and published them, once anonymized, on their website.
One of the stories came from "Frederick" who reported around 2014 that on a Sunday in July or August 2004, around 11 p.m., in Obernai, he was walking up the deserted main street. He raised his head to look at the stars, as he usually did, and then saw a "bright spot of light similar to a star but bigger all the same, it was moving from west to east." He first thought of a satellite because he was sure it couldn't be an airplane, as there was one and only one white light, continuous, no noise. He said:
But it was not a satellite, because the object was low, and was moving faster than a satellite, I mean I observed satellites before and it had nothing to do with it. The object passed over me and when I turned around I was still observing it, it gradually disappeared, the dot of light shrinking until it disappeared.
He specified that the weather forecast was clear, with no wind.
He added:
I was walking in the middle of the main road, as usual, on my way home, and the light faced me, then passed over me in extreme slowness and silence before "vibrating" / "zigzagging slightly" then sped up and disappeared.
Did the object seem solid?: impossible to define
Apparent size, comparing with an object held at arm's length: 3.5mm
Approximately how far away were you from the phenomenon?: maybe a little more than 100 or 150m from the ground at altitude
Shininess: medium, low
Did you notice any movement?: oscillation, vibration
The trajectory was: straight then zigzagging, irregular, jerky, horizontal
Estimated movement speed: slow, then zigzag, then acceleration
What was the total duration of the sighting?: about 1 minute
How did the sighting end?: the phenomenon receded, faded
Note that the same witness reported two other sightings in Obernai later, one in July 2006, the other July 20, 2006.
| Date: | July or August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 11:00 p.m. |
| Duration: | 1 minute. |
| First known report date: | 2014 |
| Reporting delay: | 10 years. |
| Department: | Bas-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Obernai |
| Place: | Walking in the main street of Obernai. |
| Latitude: | 48.461 |
| Longitude: | 7.486 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 1.7 km. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | ? |
| Witness(es) types: | Male resident. |
| Reporting channel: | Email to the Swiss ufology group GREPI. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | Walking in the main street of a village. |
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | No. |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes. |
| Entities: | No. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Puzzled. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Not a satellite, not a plane. |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Unidentified. |
[Ref. gri1:] REPORT ON THE G.R.E.P.I. WEBSITE:
It was about 11 p.m. Sunday night in Obernai, I was walking up the main street, deserted, I looked up to the sky to watch the stars, as I use to, when I saw a bright point of light similar to a star but bigger however, it was moving from west to east. I first thought of a satellite because I was sure it could not be a plane (a single white light, continuous, without any noise). But it was not a satellite, because the object was low, and was moving faster than a satellite, I mean I've seen satellites and this had nothing to do with them. The object passed over me and when I turned around I was still seeing it, it gradually disappeared, the bright point narrowing until extinction.
Supplemental information:
Date of the observation: July/August 2004
Place of the observation: Obernai (Bas-Rhin - Alsace - France) - Touristic village, some mountains of 700/800m altitude
Weather conditions: clear sky, wind: none
I was walking in the middle of the main street, as usually to go home, and the light was in front of, and then passed over me in extreme slowliness and silently before"vibrating"/"slightly zigzagging" then speed up and disappear.
Did the object look solid?: impossible to define
Apparent size, with an object at arm's length: 3.5mm
At what approximate distance were you from the phenomenon?: maybe a little more than 100 or 150m from the ground to the altitude
Brilliance: medium, weak
Did you perceive a movement?: wobble, vibration
The trajectory was: rectilinear then zigzagging, irregular, jerky, horizontal
Estimate of the moving speed: slow, then zigzag, then acceleration
What was the total length of observation?: about 1 minute
How did the observation end?: the phenomenon went away, faded
*****
Madam, Sir,
My name is Frederick, and I had already contacted you about a recent appearance in the sky of Obernai (bright white dot making zigzag, I let you do the connection).
Well ... in July (2006 - GREPI) at the beginning of the month, I was with a friend and my girlfriend in the municipal campground in town. After a few minutes of discussion and others, we saw again this time all three of us, a dot of light, thinner this time in the sky, making zigzag fast before disappearing into the sky. I immediately made the connection with the one I already told you about... But this appearance is not the reason for my email.
On the night of July 20 to 21 (2006), around midnight, I was at the edge of the window of our apartment with my girlfriend, trying to observe the water jets that watered the lawn. Suddenly, we heard a loud noise like an airplane. ... But when our eyes directed to the object, it was not an airplane, approaching, the shape of a diamond, with several lights on its sides and a luminous arc on the right to me it seems. It was flying very low and crossed the condo before moving away in a straight line in front of us (see sketch). Always with the sound of an airplane tapering. But the straight line soon became a wide curve to the left, then the right before disappearing ...
The common thing is the zigzag before the disappearance and the place of observation.
Thank you to contact me if more precision is needed.
Attached is a video of very poor quality of the event and a photo I managed to take, but the object was already far away. I'm really mad at me that have not grabbed the camera faster, but I was so fascinated.
(We modified the settings - GREPI)
Best regards,
Frédéric (Obernai - France)
[Comment by GREPI:] As of us, we do not understand what there is to see on the video and the photo... - GREPI
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The runway of the Strasbourg - Entzheim airport is about 11 kilometers in a straight line from the place of observation, and facing Obernai:
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The witness indicated that it could not have been an airplane, according to him, because there was only one, single, white light, continuous, and that there was no noise.
A priori, these reasons do not seem very good. When I observe the airplanes near Mulhouse heading towards the runway of Basel Mulhouse airport, therefore also low, often I too see only one continuous white light, no flashing lights or red or green lights. And I don't hear any noise, even if the place is quiet.
The absence of noise is explained by the distance, and the only white light is the aspect of the plane when it arrives "facing" an observer with its landing lights on, the navigation lights are "drowned" by the headlights, and too far away to be seen.
The problem with this attempted explanation is that the object came low and passed overhead; at that time, the headlights would no longer have been aimed at him, the navigation lights would have been visible, and a noise probably audible. Turning around, the witness was still watching it, and it gradually disappeared, "the spot of light shrinking until it disappeared." This indicates that before being far away, it still showed the same aspect of landing lights, from the "rear", which is hardly possible. This would apply to other aircraft in the same way.
In addition, the witness speaks first of a straight trajectory, but then it was "zigzagging, irregular, jerky, horizontal" and he mentionned a final acceleration (the latter one may be illusory).
The strangeness of the case is not very high, but I have to consider it unidentified.
Unidentified
* = 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 |
| Editeur: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | March 14, 2023 | Creation, [gri1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 14, 2023 | First published. |
