ALSACAT-2007-09-15-LECHAMPDUFEU-1
In issue 12 of January 2008 of their ufology bulletin SPICA News, the Alsatian ufological association SPICA reported that on Saturday September 15, 2007, at the beginning of the evening, at the Champ du Feu in the Bas-Rhin, there had been an appearance of two totally simultaneous "flashes" separated by about 2°, one with a magnitude of about -4 and the other with a magnitude of about - 5.
The bright spots had "catched the gaze of the audience and the animators turned in the direction of Cassiopeia."
"In a first impression that lasted about 3 seconds (+/- 1 second), the dots seemed fixed."
They followed a completely parallel trajectory with an angular velocity of about 1/4 of a degree per second, perpendicular to the horizon, going towards the horizon.
The SPICA had checked the next morning for possible passages of Iridium satellites, without any result consistent with the time and nature of the observation.
The observation had been the topic of a discussion on the Astrosurf amateur astronomy web forum; wich discusion available in this file.
| Date: | September 15, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 09:00 p.m. |
| Duration: | 1 minute 30. |
| First known report date: | September 17, 2007 |
| Reporting delay: | 2 days. |
| Department: | Bas-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Schirmeck |
| Place: | Le Champ du Feu. |
| Latitude: | 48.406 |
| Longitude: | 7.262 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 800 m. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 2 |
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| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | Adults. |
| Witness(es) types: | Amateur astronomers. |
| Reporting channel: | Web and ufology association SPICA.? |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | Meadow on mountain top. |
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | Yes. |
| 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: | Satellites? |
| Hynek: | NL |
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| ALSACAT: | Possible satellite flashes. |
[Ref. ass1:] FORUM WEB "ASTROSURF":
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Matthieusibon |
Posted September 17, 2007 Again? OK ; I no longer believe in chance about the balloon [someone having to undergo an alcogol test on the drive back]; 2nd time and each time following an evening announced by the press......... Concerning the 2 objects: I am convinced that it was Iridium (simultaneous flashes are common due to the structure of the constellation of satellites) [even] if no trace on Heavens Above.. .strange. I'm checking and I'm asking the Spica association to go through their avia and radar data for that weekend. CU |
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Matthieusibon |
Posted September 17, 2007 no, indeed there was no [satellite] flash scheduled for Saturday evening (very good the new map for location on Heaven's Above!!). Does anyone have the exact time? I remember the location well in relation to Cassiopeia but I did not note the time. One thing that was impressive: the 2 flashes were fixed for a while, it seems to me. I'm digging into it |
[Ref. ass2:] FORUM WEB "ASTROSURF":
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AstroTop |
Posted September 17, 2007 Hello Matthew, Yes, it's true that the maps on heavens-above are really good Right now I'd say around 9:00-9:15 p.m. I arrived around 8:40 p.m., 20min upstairs (Orion) then went down and stopped at your place, which spoke wonderfully about mythology .... ;-)) Joel, Always admirably well kept the Website of the "Collective" Well done (This post has been edited by AstroTop (Edited 2007-09-17).) |
[Ref. ass3:] FORUM WEB "ASTROSURF":
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object in the sky |
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chiron31130 |
Posted September 17, 2007 hello, well here it is Saturday evening around 9:15 p.m. I observed the constellation Cassiopeia with the naked eye with my 5-year-old daughter (since Saturday therefore) and all of a sudden two luminous dots like very bright stars appeared just below the constellation on the left, they remained fixed and very bright for about 1 minute 1/2 (big max) I quickly called my brother who knew a bit in astro and told me "what the fuck is this delirium, I don't know what this thing is" and then slowly disappear without moving in the same place and then poof nothing anymore not a trace. I said to myself that it is probably 2 stars that have just died but it seems impossible to me 2 stars at the same time? Nope!! I don't see at all (I don't believe in UFOs at all), possible a satellite flow but as the dots are fixed and don't move a bit, I still don't get it, does someone have an idea on the topic? |
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LAURENT.BAR |
Posted September 17, 2007 Hi The slow disappearance of the flash makes one think of a satellite (iridium) which would be in the line of vision, but the duration seems excessive, just as the couple seems inexplicable. As for two supernovae... See, you never get bored, even when looking with the naked eye. (This post has been edited by LAURENT.BAR (Edited 2007-09-17). |
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AstroTop |
Posted September 17, 2007 Hello, We are 2 (astronomers, at least) to have seen the same phenomenon See here: http://www.astrosurf.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/001258-10.html [Broken link, page not found.] It happened at the Champ du Feu (Bas-Rhin 67) in the same hours! But after consulting the iridiums on heavens-above.com, there was no trace of an iridium flash! My question: from which geographical location did you observe this phenomenon?? (Thanks to lpistor for directing this post) |
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chiron31130 |
Posted September 18, 2007 good evening, phenomenon observd on Balma in the region of Toulouse in the [department] 31 |
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den b |
Posted September 18, 2007 I observed on Friday a passage in the Rennes region of two satellites in formation at 4° from each other in the south-west north-east direction. They lit up quite brightly as they approached Cassiopeia. Then the brightness then decreased. I would lean towards NOSS satellites (which "sail" by two or three) which flashed slightly while passing in the right place. or possibly also iridiums which sometimes sail very close together with often one of the two in spare or maintenance. Calsky gives flares for satellites in maintenance as well as for quite a few flares of other satellites than iridium, but there can also be many others that are not calculated and broadcast. (This post was edited by den b (Edited 2007-09-18).) |
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AstroTop |
Posted September 18, 2007 Yes, the two objects also seemed to be heading towards Cassiopeia! (coming from Perseus) But it seems to me hardly possible that these are satellites!! No ? (brightness + perspective) We have an observation triangle of about 800 km! Weird, weird! Bruno- |
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Bruno- |
Posted September 18, 2007 They weren't necessarily seen at the same time. In the evening, Perseus is to the northeast. If the satellite comes from the northeast, it corresponds well to the observation sites: one in Alsace, the other in Toulouse a little later. |
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chiron31130 |
Posted September 20, 2007 I went to get information on the phenomenon from my salesman (who specializes in astronomy equipment) and he too does not explain it, he does not think of satellites but possible military tests... go figure, you have to ask the gendarmerie I think to find out if there was something that night around 9 p.m. to be continued..... |
[Ref. spa1:] UFOLOGY ASSOCIATION "SPICA":
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Champ du Feu (67) Saturday September 15 2007-12-20
Source SPICA
In the early evening, appearance of 2 completely simultaneous flashes separated by about 2°.
One about magnitude -4 and the other about magnitude -5.
The bright spots caught the eye of the audience and the animators turned in the direction of Cassiopeia.
In a first impression that lasted about 3 seconds (+/- 1 second), the dots seemed fixed.
It turned out that they were following a completely parallel trajectory with an angular velocity of about 1/4 of a degree per second. Direction: perpendicular to the horizon. Meaning: towards the horizon.
We checked this morning for possible Iridium passes. No result consistent with the time and nature of the observation.
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Source [spa1] talks about witnesses being the audience and the hosts; in fact, there had been a "Night of Astronomy" that day at the Champ du Feu, hence the discussion on the Astrosurf Website.
The flashes may have been uncharted military satellites flashes.
Possible satellite flashes.
* = 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 | March 17, 2023 | Creation, [ass1], [ass2], [spa1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 17, 2023 | First published. |
