ALSACAT-05-05-2017-BARR-1
A witness whose name was not disclosed communicated about a sighting to the Alsatian ufology group "SPICA", the latter publishing about it on May 8, 2017.
The witness said that on May 5, 2017, starting at 09:12 p.m., from the rue de la Vallée in the city of Barr, "in the Haut-Rhin" - actually Barr is in the Bas-Rhin - he saw "a UFO on flame that directed itself from the center of Barr to the vineyards of the Zotzenberg and disappeared at the horizon.
He said it was of light yellow color, floating in the air and on flame, with a rather slow speed "2 ou 3m /s" as if it was "a very small balloon on flame", the flame being as large as the object."
He said it was in the Nord-East at a 20° elevation at the beginning of the sighting and the South-West at a 50° elevation at the end of the sighting. He said the sky was clear and the Moon was visible in the South.
| Date: | May 5, 2017 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 09:12 p.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | May 8, 2017 |
| Reporting delay: | 1 to 3 days. |
| Department: | Bas-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Barr |
| Place: | From the rue de la Vallée, UFO in the sky. |
| Latitude: | 48.405 |
| Longitude: | 7.421 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 2 km |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | ? |
| Witness(es) types: | ? |
| Reporting channel: | By the web to the ufology group SPICA. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | From road, UFO in the sky. |
| Visibility conditions: | Night |
| UFO observed: | Yes |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| Entities: | No |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Hynek: | NL. |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Possible Chinese lantern or plane contrail lght by set sun. |
[Ref. spa1:] "SPICA" UFOLOGY ASSOCIATION:
On May 5, 2017 at 9:12 pm, the witness saw a flaming UFO that headed from the BARR town center to the vineyard (ZOTZENBERG) and disappeared on the horizon. The object was floating in the air and was flaming quite slow speed 2 or 3m / s it looked like a very small flaming ball the flame was as big as the object. It could be a Chinese lantern, did anyone else see this phenomenon or could he confirm this hypothesis? Please contact our association
SPICA ASSOCIATION
3 rue des Pierres
67520 ODRATZHEIM
Phone: 03 88 50 64 26
Email: association.spica@orange.fr
[Ref. spa2:] "SPICA" UFOLOGY ASSOCIATION:
Message by Admin on Mon 8 May - 12:09
Temporal localization (When did it happen ?) in local time on May 05,2017
Hour of the start of the observation : 09:12 p.m. - in the evening
Geographical localization of the witness (where were you?) : France 67 BARR
Precise location (hamlet, place, road, street, number etc...) : BARR rue de la vallée
Description of the phenomenon (what you saw or heard) : a UFO in flame directed itself from BARR city center to the vineyard (ZOTZENBERG) and disappeared on the horizon
Color of the phenomenon: yellow
Luminosity: light
Behavior (describe the trajectory, the movements, the estimated speed, the potential stops...... : the object floated in the air and was in flame speed quite slow 2 ou 3m /s you would have said a very small plane on flame the flame was as large as the object
Orientation in the start of the observation (North, South etc...) : North-East
Orientation in the end of the observation (North, South etc...) : South-West
Angular height (in degrees upwards starting from the horizontal) :
Start of the observation : 20°
End of the observation : 50°
Weather condition: clear sky
Where where the celestial bodies (Moon, Sun, others) : the moon was visible in the south
Other witnesses? Thanks for contacting us
www.spica.org
|
While the report looks complete in some aspects, important data is missing. For example, there is no information about the duration of the sighting. We only guess it somehow lasted as it is said it was a slow move and the sighting direction at the start and end of the sighting changed significantly.
The "obvious" explanation may be that of a Chinese lantern, of course. But for the pleasure of nitpicking I could propose another explanation:
Objects that look a bit like a "flaming plane" are often planes. The "flaming" is the contrail lighted by the setting sun or the sun already just set below the horizon, with its rays still lighting objects in the high sky.
We are told it occurred at 09:12 p.m. The sun set there at about 8 p.m., and 09:12 is actually the "last chance" for the Sun to light a plane's contrail.
I would favor this second explanation for one reason: the witness said the "flame was as large as the object", and this does not fit well with Chinese lanterns.
Note that the moon was indeed in the south (186°), as the witness told.
Anyway, there is no strangeness in the report allowing a claim of extraterrestrial craft or anything even more exotic.
Possible Chinese lantern or plane contrail light by set sun.
* = 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 | August 24, 2017 | Creation, [spa1], [spa2]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | August 24, 2017 | First published. |
