ALSACAT-2008-08-01-STRASBOURG-1
Under the pseudonym "Empire", someone posted on August 23, 2009 on the "UFO" blog Area 51 that on "last August 1st" he went to Strasbourg. As he sometimes happens to do, during the car ride, he had made a kind of "prayer", not to any particular God "but to the whole universe", asking "humbly for a sign concerning something personal."
Arrived in Strasbourg, around 9 p.m. or a little earlier or a little later, accompanied by three friends, they went to see a show on the water, made up of water jets, lights, lasers and of holograms, on the theme of Europe and its evolution.
He didn't feel very comfortable, "seeing an apartment with very red lights, in a neighboring building intrigued me, especially since the light was flashing, and for a minute. Then the apartment was plunged into darkness."
Sitting on the stone steps at the edge of the water, tired, he saw halfway through the spectacle, even above the jets of water, a white luminous ball, "the size of two soccer balls who seemed to be interested in the water."
He thought at the time that it had to be part of the show, but what amazed him was that this white ball had fallen from the sky, like a leaf from a tree, and was approaching water like an insect would. "But insects are not that big, at least not in Strasbourg." Then, he saw it suddenly rise to accelerate away and disappear to his right, while continuing its ascent.
There were clouds and he could see it entering the clouds, with its light still visible through the clouds for a few seconds.
He immediately told his friends about this, asking if they had seen it, but they had been staring down at the water and told him they did not see this.
To see the white ball "run away", he had to turn around, which meant that he could also see the faces of the people sitting around him: all were looking at the level of the water, like his friends, while he tended to look at the tops of the water jets.
His friends told him that he had dreamed and that it was a reflection of the lasers on the clouds. But he found that the lasers were aimed at the water, not at the sky, and, having seen lasers before, he notes that "it had nothing to do with it. A laser does not look like a ball of white light going through a cloud rising in the sky. A laser has a beam, this white ball seemed to move freely."
For fear of ridicule, he didn't insist. He said: "To be honest, I'm not quite sure I saw what I saw, and it disturbs me a little. But I wanted to share this with you, just in case."
| Date: | August 1, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 09:00 p.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | August 23, 2009 |
| Reporting delay: | 1 year. |
| Department: | Bas-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Strasbourg |
| Place: | Rivetoile, near the canal. |
| Latitude: | 48.574 |
| Longitude: | 7.758 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 600 m. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | ? |
| Witness(es) types: | ? |
| Reporting channel: | To the UFO blog "Area 51." |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | In city on canal bank. |
| Visibility conditions: | Night, clouds. |
| 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: | Puzzled. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Possible drone. |
[Ref. ara1:] BLOG "AREA51":
|
Empire says:
08/23/2009 at 10:08
Good evening. I already posted on January 9 an experience I had when I was younger in 1997.
On August 1, I went to Strasbourg. As I sometimes do, I tell myself in the car that takes me there that I am going to say a kind of “prayer”, not addressed to a particular God but to the entire universe. I humbly asked for a sign regarding something personal. In the evening, around 9 p.m. (I don't remember the exact time, it was perhaps a little earlier or a little later) accompanied by three friends, we went to see a show on the water, made of water jets, water, lights, lasers and holograms. I didn't feel very comfortable and an apartment with very red lights, in a neighboring building, intrigued me, especially since the light was flickering for a minute. Then the apartment was plunged into darkness.
Sitting on the stone steps at the edge of the water, I must say, however, that I was tired. The subject of the show was Europe and its evolution. Halfway through the show, I see above the water jets a white luminous ball, the size of two soccer balls, which seems to be interested in the water. At the time I tell myself that this is part of the show. What amazed me was that this white ball had fallen from the sky, like a leaf from a tree and was approaching the water like an insect. But the insects are not that big, at least not in Strasbourg. Then, I saw it suddenly rise to move away by accelerations and disappear towards my right, while continuing its ascent. There were clouds and I could see it pass through them, its light was still visible through the clouds for a few seconds. I immediately shared this with my friends, asking them if they had seen this, but they stared at the water level and said no.
To see the white ball "run away", I had to turn around, which meant that I could also see the faces of the people sitting around us: all of them were looking at the water level, like my friends. I tended to look at the tops of the water jets. My friends told me that I had dreamed and that it was a reflection of the lasers on the clouds. But the lasers were aimed at the water, not the sky. And I've seen lasers before and it had nothing to do with it. A laser does not look like a ball of white light which passes through a cloud while rising in the sky. A laser has a beam, this white ball seemed free to move. For fear of ridicule I did not insist.
To be honest, I'm not quite sure I saw what I saw correctly, and that confuses me a bit. But I wanted to share this with you, just in case.
Good luck and remember to look up to the sky! Hopefully you won't see whoever thinks to look down to see you.
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So we had a small object, or a light, or a small object with a light, that exhibited an "intelligent" behavior.
The most obvious prosaic explanation for me would be that it was a drone, used to film the show.
The companies "Visuel" and "Aquatic Show", the latter based in Strasbourg, had produced in August 2008 the aquatic show "La Symphonie des Elements", and one of the premieres took place in Strasbourg in August 2008. There were 10,000 paying spectators, and following this success, "Aquatic Show" has greatly expanded and has since organized such events around the world.
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Above: image of the show of the "Aquatic Show" company in 2008 in Strasbourg. The show took place near the Rivetoile shopping center near the Place de l'Etoile in Strasbourg, on the banks of the Rhône-Rhine canal.
Possible drone.
* = 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 25, 2023 | Creation, [ara1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 25, 2023 | First published. |
