ALSACAT:

ALSACAT is my comprehensive catalog of UFO sighting reports in Alsace, the region is the North-East of France, whether they are "explained" or "unexplained".

The ALSACAT catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file. A general index and thematic sub-catalogs give access to these Alsatian case files.

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Case of Landersheim, on October 21, 2008:

Case number:

ALSACAT-2008-10-21-LANDERSHEIM-1

Summary:

On 22 October 2008, one "Papou" reportedly published his testimony on the web forum of the Alsatian ufology association SPICA.

Under the title "luminous trail", he said that on October 21, 2008, at 06:50 a.m., driving on the heights of Landersheim to go to his workplace, he saw a large trail of light passing through the sky and the clouds in the direction of Strasbourg.

He said that the vehicles in front of his had slowed down and he was thus not the only who saw it; he then asked if anyone else had seen it who would know what its origin was.

He assured that this had nothing to do with a shooting star, it was "huge" and "it was in our atmosphere."

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	October 21, 2008
Time:	06:50 a.m.
Duration:	?
First known report date:	October 22, 2008
Reporting delay:	1 day.

Geographical data:

Department:	Bas-Rhin
City:	Landersheim
Place:	From the car, driving on the heights of Landersheim, UFO in the sky.
Latitude:	48.689
Longitude:	7.495
Uncertainty radius:	2 km

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	1 or more.
Number of known witnesses:	1
Number of named witnesses:	0
Witness(es) ages:	Adult.
Witness(es) types:	Male.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Web report to the web forum of local ufology group SPICA.
Type of location:	From car driving on a hill, UFO in the sky.
Visibility conditions:	Night
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:	Unidentified, not a shooting star.

Classifications:

Hynek:	NL
ALSACAT:	Probable meteor.

Sources:

[Ref. spa1:] "SPICA" UFOLOGY ASSOCIATION:

Landersheim (67) 10/21/2008

Source : Forum SPICA

Hello friends, on October 21, 2008 at 6:50 driving at the level of Landersheim to go to work, a large trail of light across the sky and through the clouds towards Strasbourg, vehicles in front of me also sl-owed down so I was not the only one to have seen it, did someone else see it and knows its origin?

PS: nothing to do with a shooting star, it was "huge", it was actually inside our atmosphere.

[Ref. dna1:] NEWSPAPER "DERNIERES NOUVELLES D'ALSACE":

Testimonies

Strange lights in Alsace

The SPICA association collects on its website the testimonies of people, from all regions, who have observed strange phenomena. Here are three of the most recent posts from Alsace:

LANDERSHEIM: "On October 21, 2008 at 6:50 a.m. while driving on the heights of Landersheim to go to work, a great trail of light crossed the sky and crossed the clouds in the direction of Strasbourg. The vehicles in front of me slowed down. Nothing to do with a shooting star. It was "huge", it was really in our atmosphere."

[... other cases...]

[Ref. rnc1:] "RESEAU NATIONAL CIVIL DE SURVEILLANCE DU CIEL":

10/22/2008 - 06:50 - Bas-Rhin (67) - Big trail of light

Testimony deposited by Papou on 10/12/2008 on the SPICA Forum.

Direct link: http://www.spica.org/sujet-ovni-ufo-461024.php

Title: luminous trail

Citation:

PS: nothing to do with a shooting star, it was "huge", it was actually inside our atmosphere.

RNCSC note: there is several missing information, such as the speed of the phenomenon, a clarification of the word "huge" or the color of this light. This may be a meteorite (Orionids) just like anything, so this testimony is considered currently as unexplained.

[Ref. spa2:] SPICA UFLOGY GROUP:

Landersheim (67) October 21, 2008 at 6:50

Source: SPICA Forum

Driving on the heights of Landersheim to go to work, a large trail of light crossd [sic] the sky and the clouds towards Strasbourg, vehicles in front of me slowed down so I was not the only one to have seen it. Nothing to do with a shooting star, it was huge, it was really in our atmosphere.

[Ref. spa3:] UFOLOGY GROUP "SPICA":

City	Date and hour of observation	General shape Identification	General color Hypothesis	Conclusion
LANDERSHEIM	Tuesday 21 October 2008 at 06:50	various others Unidentified	information not communicated Naturel reentry	Naturel reentry

Discussion:

From October 16 to 27, the Orionids meteor shower occurs, and the peak is precisely on the October 21st, and around 06:24 a.m. local time for 2008.

It has been shown that their peak follows a periodicity of 12 years, and that the higher rates were indeed expected for 2008 to 2010.

What the witness saw was probably a solitary meteor, or a meteor related to the Orionids but bigger than their usual shooting stars.

Evaluation:

Probable meteor.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

[spa1] * "Observations d'OVNIS", web page on the website of the SPICA Alsatian ufology association, France, not dated, page deleted, copy from my personal archive.
[dna1] * Article in the regional newspaper Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, France, page 7, December 15, 2008.
[rnc1] * Witness report republished on the "Réseau National Civil de Surveillance du Ciel" (RNCSC) website, France, December 11, 2006, at http://francesurveillance.xooit.com/t2208-22-10-2008-06h50-Bas-Rhin-67-Grande-trainee-de-lumiere.htm
[spa2] * Ufology bulletin SPICA News of the SPICA ufology group, Alsace, France, #14, page 35, January 2009.
[spa3] * "DEPARTEMENT 67 - BAS-RHIN", listing of UFO sighting reports by the Alsatian ufology group SPICA, Alsace, France, not dated, found in May 2015, at http://www.spica.org/Page_Listing_67.htm

File history:

Authoring:

Main author:	Patrick Gross
Contributors:	None
Reviewers:	None
Editor:	Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version:	Create/changed by:	Date:	Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	December 30, 2014	Creation, [rnc1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	December 30, 2014	First published.
1.1	Patrick Gross	May 4, 2015	Addition [spa2].
1.2	Patrick Gross	June 12, 2015	Addition [spa3].
1.3	Patrick Gross	August 28, 2015	Addition [spa1].
1.4	Patrick Gross	May 25, 2021	Addition [dna1].

This page was last updated on May 25, 2021.