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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.

◀ Previous case

Case in the Haut-Rhin, on August 20, 2022:

Case number:

ALSACAT-2022-08-20-HAUTRHIN-1

Summary:

The website of the regional newspaper L'Alsace indicated on August 26, 2022, that on Saturday August 20, 2022 at 10:05 p.m., "on social networks, in groups dedicated to local news ", the testimonies had poured about a white streak observed in the sky, from the Ried to the valley of Munster, passing through many Colmar districts.

The newspaper explains that it was the Starlink 4-27 mission launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 19 by SpaceX, Elon Musk's company.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: August 20, 2022
Time: 10:05 p.m.
Duration: ?
First known report date: August 26, 2022
Reporting delay: Minutes, 6 days.

Geographical data:

Department: Haut-Rhin
City: Colmar etc.
Place: ?
Latitude: 47.856
Longitude: 7.238
Uncertainty radius: 50 km.

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: Numerous.
Number of known witnesses: ?
Number of named witnesses: ?
Witness(es) ages: ?
Witness(es) types: ?

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: Web and local media.
Type of location: ?
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: Puzzled.
Witnesses interpretation: ?

Classifications:

Hynek: NL
ALSACAT: Starlink satellites.

Sources:

[Ref. lae1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ALSACE":

Scan.

Saturday August 20, 2022, 10:05 p.m. On social networks, in groups dedicated to local news, testimonies rain down: a white streak was observed in the sky, from the Ried to the Munster valley, passing through many Colmar neighborhoods. It was the Starlink 4-27 mission launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 19 by SpaceX, Elon Musk's company.

Discussion:

This was also reported at the same time, among others, in the Montbéliard region, outside Alsace:

It lasted only a few minutes this Saturday, August 20, 2022 around 10 p.m., a trail of "shooting stars" in the sky of Montbéliard, well aligned, which follow each other, and accelerate to disappear. No, they weren't UFOs, or even shooting stars, but satellites from the company SpaceX for the Starlink project.

(Source: https://www.toutmontbeliard.com/2022/08/20/des-etoiles-filantes-de-satellites-dans-le-ciel-starlink-de-spacex-2)

Also in the Nord with the incorrect date of "Saturday August 21, 2022", in the Bas-Rhin, in the Haute-Marne, in Lons-le-Saunier in the Jura, in the Seine-et-Marne, in the Isère, the Nivernais, etc.

Generally, reports appeared in the local and regional news media, most often assuring that "some eople" had mistaken this for "UFOs"; but there are no significant records of testimonies actually supporting this claim. I had two friends who each had seen Starlink in the years 2022 - 2023, and talked to me about it, but none of them really called it "UFO", much less "alien craft", they simply indicated not having seen a similar sight before and not knowing what it was (therefore "UFOs" in the literal sense only).

It goes without saying that by digging into the web "forums", one will not fail to find stories or photos related to Starlink satellites interpreted as extraterrestrial craft, but this is not the general interpretation that the witnesses give.

Evaluation:

Starlink satellites.

Sources references:

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

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 January 10, 2023 Creation, [lae1].
1.0 Patrick Gross January 10, 2023 First published.

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This page was last updated on January 10, 2023.