ALSACAT-2010-08-21-WITTELSHEIM-1
A testimony by "Jean" published by the SPICA Alsatian ufology association refers to "luminous dots" seen on August 21, 2010, at 10:00 p.m. in Wittelsheim in the Haut-Rhin.
"Jean" drove on the fast track towards Colmar - Bollwiller, when he noticed two bright spots in the distance, near Wittelsheim. Their size and the fact that they seemed to have stationary intrigued.
The witness was sure these were not planes.
The bright spot then moved instantly upward obliquely, and then began to be obscured by clouds. The other spot remained in the same place, then without apparent reasons they disappeared suddenly, as if they had been turned off.
| Date: | August 21, 2010 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 10:00 p.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | November 19, 2010 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours, 3 months. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Wittelsheim |
| Place: | From he car driving on the motorway, UFO in the sky. |
| Latitude: | 47.809 |
| Longitude: | 7.193 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 5 km |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | Young adult, adult or aged. |
| Witness(es) types: | Male. |
| Reporting channel: | To the Alsatian ufology association SPICA. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | From he car driving on motorway, UFO in the sky. |
| 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: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Not planes. |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Probable Chinese lanterns. |
[Ref. rnc1:] "RESEAU NATIONAL CIVIL DE SURVEILLANCE DU CIEL":
21/08/2010 - 22h00 - Haut-Rhin (68) - Points lumineux
De: Jean
Source: http://www.spica.org/sujet-ovni-ufo-329324.php
Citation:
Wittelsheim (68)
Bonjour... Samedi vers 22h, alors que je roulais sur la voie rapide direction Colmar Bollwiller, j'ai été attiré par 2 points lumineux au loin, du coté de Wittelsheim. Leur taille et le fait qu'ils semblaient stationnaires m'a intrigué... Ce n'était pas des avions, ça j'en suis certain... Puis le point lumineux de droite s'est déplacé instantanément vers le haut, en oblique, puis a commencé à être masqué par les nuages. L'autre point restait au même endroit et sans connaitre les raisons, ont disparu d'un coup... Comme éteins...
[Ref. spa1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "SPICA":
| City | Date and hour of observation | General shape Identification |
General color Hypothesis |
Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WITTELSHEIM | Saturday 21 August 2010 at 10:00 p.m. | luminous dot Unidentified |
information not communicated None |
Unsolved -lack of info |
|
What looks like bright spots, but not at all like airplanes, and turn off in the end?
Chinese lanterns...
Chinese lanterns are one cause of some old tales of UFO sightings: During the "airship" wave of 1896 - 1897 in the USA, during the wave of 1972 in the US Midwest, etc.
Since these miniature hot air paper balloons can be ordered on the Internet at very low cost - they also commonly found in Alsace now in stores - there is no need anymore to take the trouble of manufacturing them yourself.
So since 2005, about everywhere and of course in Alsace, many people who do not yet know about them report them as UFOs or at least as a subject of puzzlement: "It was not planes, not satellites, not helicopters, etc...", commonly appears in the stories. Indeed they aren't.
In principle, any ufologist worthy of the title should be able to recognize a story related for sure or at least possibly to Chinese lanterns, but there are still ufologists who do not want to listen, or quibble, demanding that a guilty lantern is handed to them otherwise they want the story to remain a "UFO report".
Most of the time, I certainly cannot "scientifically prove" or provide "hard evidence" that this or that report is explained by Chinese lanterns; but I see nothing opposes it and nothing would justify to call it spacecraft from another world or who knows what else.
It is sometimes possible to find that there was, precisely at that time, in the vicinity, a release of lanterns, during a party, a wedding party, a birthday party etc. But these releases are now so usual in Alsace at least that they are not necessarily mentioned on festivity calendars.
Since 2005, they constitute the bulk of the "testimonies" of UFOs found on websites devoted to the subject of UFOs and essentially publishing such "web report"; generally the only treatment is the publication, without any information on a possible cause, without any investigation or comment.
In Alsace, such releases are especially popular now since fireworks and firecrackers, long tolerated, are now prohibited for use unless special exemptions; Alsatians therefore largely adopted the lanterns.
As these lanterns are usually released at private or public parties, they are most often seen on Saturday nights, often at wedding dates or official festivities such as the National Day or New Year's Eve, usually between 10 p.m. and midnight. They are then usually released in clusters. But sometimes the purchaser performs a "test flight" a few days before, sometimes with a single lantern.
Note that the lanterns have also evolved: if initially they were almost always white in color, giving an orange light during their flight, there are now all colors available and they produce other colors in flight than the usual "reddish", orange, yellow.
|
Above: a Chinese lantern.
Probable Chinese lanterns.
* = 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 | July 27, 2015 | Creation, [rnc1], [spa1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | July 27, 2015 | First published. |
