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 in the Haut-Rhin, on December 5, 2011:

Case number:

ALSACAT-2011-12-05-HAUTRHIN-1

Summary:

Using a pseudonym, someone from the Haut-Rhin reported to the Swiss ufology group GREPI that on December 5, 2011, at 06:15 p.m., with a sky not too cloudy, full moon, which allowed to have a relatively clear view, he or she saw a bright light that was moving.

By the time the witness realized what was going on, the light went off, but small lights were still flashing.

The witness who says he or she was "skeptical about the paranormal," thought it was a plane, but "the light disappeared completely at once! I could not believe my eyes."

He or she searched the sky in vain to try to see it again.

The witness does not give a location, saying it was in an area of buildings with a large stadium and then the forest, with an unobstructed view.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	December 5, 2011
Time:	06:15 p.m.
Duration:	?
First known report date:	November 27, 2012
Reporting delay:	Hour, 1 year.

Geographical data:

Department:	Haut-Rhin
City:	?
Place:	Near a big stadium and a forest, UFO in the sky.
Latitude:	47.844
Longitude:	7.215
Uncertainty radius:	45 km

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	1
Number of known witnesses:	1
Number of named witnesses:	0
Witness(es) ages:	?
Witness(es) types:	?

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	?
Type of location:	Near a big stadium and a forest, 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:	?

Classifications:

Hynek:	NL
ALSACAT:	Meteor.

Sources:

[Ref. gri1:] G.R.E.P.I.:

Monday, December 5, 2011, at 18:15, the sky was not too cloudy with a full moon, which allowed to get a relatively clear view.

I saw a bright light moving and by the time I realized what was happening it died, but small lights were still flashing.

I am skeptical about the paranormal, I thought it was a plane. But the light disappeared completely at once! I could not believe my eyes. I searched the sky in vain to try to see it again.

It must be said that in this area there are no buildings, but a great stadium and the forest. The view was therefore well clear.

I still cannot believe it.

Khansa (Haut-Rhin - France)

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

12/05/2011 - 06:15 p.m. - Haut-Rhin (68) - Intense light

Date: 12/05/2011

Hour: 06:15 p.m.

Location: Haut-Rhin (68)

Observer: Khansa

Source: http://www.ovni.ch/home/frame4.htm

Reported on: Not communicated

REPORT:

Quote:

Monday, December 5, 2011, at 18:15, the sky was not too cloudy with a full moon, which allowed to get a relatively clear view.

I saw a bright light moving and by the time I realized what was happening it died, but small lights were still flashing.

I am skeptical about the paranormal, I thought it was a plane. But the light disappeared completely at once! I could not believe my eyes. I searched the sky in vain to try to see it again.

It must be said that in this area there are no buildings, but a great stadium and the forest. The view was therefore well clear.

I still cannot believe it.

Khansa (Haut-Rhin - France)

Discussion:

This is a model of virtually unusable report:

No way to contact the witness.
No location, "Haut-Rhin" is a whole department, and observation did not necessarily take place in this department.
No duration of observation.
No direction of observation.
No angular size for the phenomenon, which could therefore range from the size of a star to a huge size.
No angular speed of displacement.
No color, no shape etc.

It is therefore possible that this was a plane in landing approach, with its headlights pointing straight towards the witness at first and then making a turn, thus the "small blinking lights" visibel after the turn.

This explanation seems the most likely, especially since the witness himself or herself "thought it was a plane," it was only the "disappearance" who did change his or her mind, a disappearance explanable by a turn of the plane.

But it is not the correct one.

In fact, other reports and an article in the newspaper l'Alsace allow to find the correct explanation:

This was the meteor of December 5, 2011, at about 6 p.m.

Evaluation:

Meteor.

Sources references:

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

[gri1] * Witness report published on the website of the ufology group GREPI, Switzerland, not dated, at http://www.ovni.ch/temoign/temoig95.htm
[rnc1] * Witness report published on the "Réseau National Civil de Surveillance du Ciel" (RNCSC) website, France, November 27, 2012, at http://francesurveillance.xooit.com/t3139-05-12-2011-18h15-Haut-Rhin-68-Lumiere-intense.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 1, 2014	Creation, [gri1], [rnc1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	December 1, 2014	First published.

This page was last updated on December 1, 2014.