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Case in the Bas-Rhin, on October 13, 2013:

Case number:

ALSACAT-2013-10-13-BASRHIN-1

Summary:

In a listing of UFO sighting reports in the Bas-Rhin published in 2015 on their website, the Alsatian ufology association SPICA noted that on Sunday, October 13, 2013, at 09:36 p.m. from an unknown place in the department, there was a sighting of a "ball, balloon or melon (3D)" of blue color.

The SPICA announced that the case was solved: it was a meteor.

Data:

Temporal data:

Geographical data:

Witnesses data:

Ufology data:

Classifications:

Sources:

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

Discussion:

I searched other witnesses reports of a meteor at that date and time and in a consistent place.

I found a meteor that day seen from Rosheim at 09:36 p.m.:

The meteorite-fireball of October 13, 2013

October 15, 2013 10:51 PM

Sunday evening October 13, 2013, at 09:36 p.m. Local Time 07:36 p.m. UTC, observed from Rosheim near Obernai in Alsace, a very large meteorite was seen entering the atmosphere between the stars Alpha and Gamma Cygni south of Zenith. It went across the entire south-eastern part of the sky to disappear between Delta and Eta Aquarius. Its trajectory stretched over more than 50 degrees across the sky. The track began with a beautiful golden yellow color to green at Epsilon Pegasus. Then it expanded by taking a fluorescent green color. Its speed slowed down to a fifth during the travel. At Lamda Aquarius the meteorite exploded in a violent green ball surrounded by a yellow halo. The size of the ball had reached the diameter of the Moon (~ 0.5°). The light was so violent that it lit the place of observation more than the Moon in Aquarius with its 0.71 gibbous phase and its -11 magnitude. However no particular sound was heard in the minute that followed. The phenomenon lasted between 3 and 4 seconds, resulting in a very strong emotion.

So we see it crossed a large portion of the sky, 50°; which confirms the trees shadows direction change.

In fact, witnesses are not lacking, I found for example, at allskycamfrance.frenchboard.com/t557-bolide-au-dessus-de-la-lorraine-13-10-2013-21h36-13-lt :

Hello,

This won't serve much, but I want to emphasize that this re-entry [sic] was reported to me by a relative last night Sunday, October 13th at 10 p.m. (he gave me a probable time between 9:40 p.m. 9:30 p.m.)

He was then on the road from Mulhouse to Strasbourg (northbound), specifically on the RN83/A36 between Colmar and the Haut-Koenigsbourg which should be in the left visual field.

He and his wife did not see the object directly, but saw the sky light in blue "like a full moon night" for 3 to 4 seconds. The moon was already present in the South (Gibbous 189 ° and 29 ° az elec, -11.61 mag according to Stellarium), it seems to suggest a magnitude much higher than the measure actually recorded by the fireball camera.

I will try to clarify the observation according to the witnesses feedback.

[...]

This website provides a video of this meteor recorded on an automatic camera.

A participant in the website's forum indicates that despite the lack of astrometric data, this meteor likely disintegrated and/or fell down in a triangle roughly formed of Luneville - Epinal - Saint-Dié.

Finally, there is at least one other case in which it was reported in a UFO context: case ALSACAT-2013-10-13-CHAMPENAY-1.

Above: a green meteor.

Evaluation:

The 9:36 p.m. meteor on the Vosges.

Sources references:

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

• [spa1] * "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

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This page was last updated on September 15, 2015.