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 Colmar, on June 12, 2018:

Case number:

ALSACAT-2018-06-12-COLMAR-1

Summary:

On August 19, 2018, someone reported this to the US ufology group MUFON, via their testimonies collection website:

"j'ai tes dans le balcon est j'ai vu des lumière de forme sphère. apres j'ai pris mon téléphone est j'ai filmé 10 min."

("I was in the balcony an i saw ligthes of the sphere form, after i took my phone an i filmed 10 min.")

The person (a child, given misspells?) indicated that the date of observation was August 12, 2018, the hour was not given, the place was said to be Colmar.

A small unusable image was added:

After 20 days, MUFON makes this kind of testimony inaccessible to non-members; but an American Website, UFO Stalker, picks them up before they disappear. We then find the observation credited MUFON on the Web bulletin of the American George Filer, but with a text with corrected spelling but erroneous as it is no longer "light(s)" but "one light"... Then this comes back to Alsace on the Web forum of the ufological association SPICA, crediting George Filer, losing the date of observation, but where the light becomes again "lights". SPICA requested information on the sighting but apparently nothing came up.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	June 12, 2018
Time:	Night.
Duration:	10 minutes.
First known report date:	August 19.
Reporting delay:	2 months.

Geographical data:

Department:	Haut-Rhin
City:	Colmar
Place:	From the balcony.
Latitude:	48.081
Longitude:	7.354
Uncertainty radius:	5 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:	By the Web to MUFON.
Type of location:	From the balcony.
Visibility conditions:	Night.
UFO observed:	Yes
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	?
Entities:	No
Photographs:	Yes.
Sketch(s) by witness(es):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	?
Witnesses interpretation:	?

Classifications:

Hynek:	NL
ALSACAT:	Probable Chinese lanterns.

Sources:

[Ref. usr1:] WEBSITE "UFO STALKER":

UFO Sighting (FR-08192018-0006)
Colmar, Grand Est on June 12, 2018

Sighting Basics

Case	94244
Occurred	2018-06-12 23:00
Reported	2018-08-19 03:46 (Reported 67 Days Later)
Time Zone	Europe/Paris
Source	MUFON
Tags	none

Summary

J'ai tes dans le balcon est j'ai vu des lumi�re de forme sph�re. apres j'ai pris mon t�l�phone est j'ai film� pandant 10 min.

Sighting Location

Approximation to protect the reporters identity

City	Colmar
Region	Grand Est
Country	France
Postal Code	68000

Photos, Videos and Media

Sighting Specifics

Distance	501 Feet - 1 Mile
Altitude	Over 500 Feet - No Cloudcover
Duration	00:10:00
Features	None, Unknown
Flight Path	Stationary
Shape	Sphere

Weather Details

Sorry, weather details are unavailable for this sighting.

Detailed Description

J'ai tes dans le balcon est j'ai vu des lumi�re de forme sph�re. apres j'ai pris mon t�l�phone est j'ai film� 10 min.

[Ref. ffs1:] "FILER'S FILE":

France Lights

Colmar -- I was sitting on the balcony and saw a light of spherical shape. After I took my phone I filmed it for 10 minutes. on June 12, 2018

Thanks to MUFON CMS

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

Lights in Colmar (68) June 2018

Message by Admin Wed Aug 29 - 11:38

Source: Filer's Files

Observation of lights

https://i.servimg.com/u/f26/18/48/71/85/france10.jpg

We are looking for information on this observation.

Thanks

Spica.57

Discussion:

What I see in the photo looks just like a bunch of Chinese lanterns.

Since 2005 the majority of so-called "UFO" cases reported in Alsace have been Chinese lanterns.

In this case, I obviously do not have the "scientific proof" of this explanation. Simply, the meager description and the photo conform to this. So if the diehards want it not to be, they shall demonstrate it themselves.

Above: a Chinese lantern.

Evaluation:

Probable Chinese lanterns.

Sources references:

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

[muf1] ? Witness report to the Website of the ufology group Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), USA, August 19, 2018.
[usr1] * Website UFO Stalker, USA, not dated, at https://www.ufostalker.com/sighting/94244
[ffs1] * UFO bulletin Filer's Files, George Filer editor, USA, #34, August 28, 2018, at https://nationalufocenter.com/blog/2018/08/28/filers-files-34-2018-william-tompkins-ufos
[spa1] * Ufology Web board of the Alsatian association SPICA, Odratzheim, France, August 29, 2018, at https://spica.lebonforum.com/t426-lumieres-a-colmar-68-juin-2018

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	July 9, 2021	Creation, [usr1], [ffs1], [spa1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	July 9, 2021	First published.

This page was last updated on July 9, 2021.