The article below was published in the daily newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré, France, on February 16, 1978.
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A luminous phenomenon that can probably belong to the category of UFOs, until proven otherwise - was observed yesterday morning by a number of residents of Grenoble and Isère. It was 6:50 a.m., and the weather was clear, despite a thin haze that dimmed the brightness of the stars, when an "orange-colored ball followed by a very luminous meteoric tail" passed from Vercors to Chartreuse, above the city.
This ball was seen by Mr. Francis Consolin and by two other people who were waiting for their bus, avenue de la République in Seyssinet.
"It looked like the luminous fuselage, which went from the Vercors of an airplane, told us Mr. Consolin (who is an investigator for the "Lumières dans la nuit" research group with, at the front, a very luminous part , fixed and, at the back, a flashing dot, less bright. The overall color was yellowish-white, like incandescent lighting. The fuselage was as large as the diameter of the full moon. It was the appearance of 'a jumbo jet seen three kilometers away. Its speed was that of a landing plane. It had a straight, slightly upward trajectory. We saw it for about twenty seconds, in absolute silence."
Mrs. Denise V. who was opening her shutters in a tower of the Olympic Village had the same vision.
"It was," she said, "like a tangerine held at arm's length, followed by a large trail of light."
Same observation, by Miss Danièle C. at la Monta, Saint-Egrève: "A large ball with divergent drag..."
In Saint-Egrève, at the Pont de Vence, Mr. B... also saw "a luminous ball, as big as the moon, with a luminous tail, which went from the Vercors towards the Chartreuse."
Witness again, Mr. Marc P.... in Saint-Julien-de-Ratz, who saw the ball pass above the Vercors, in the South-North direction. Mrs. G... who lives in Charnècle, and who was facing Lyon, saw, for her part, "a luminous object with a trail, heading from Parménie towards Voiron."
Was it the same as the others?
Finally, near Quaix en Chartreuse, a witness saw this ball "coming out of the Néron and disappearing behind La Pinéa" which would indicate a change of direction directly above the Chartreuse, and a low altitude.
R.V.
