UFOs in the daily Press:

Curious luminous phenomenon in the sky of Montbard (C.-O.)

Montbard. -- A few days ago I was already informed that one of my friends, an old man from Montbard, wanted to see me about a rather curious phenomenon that he had observed one evening in the sky.

Taken by other occupations, I had given up, then... I forgot. The case came back to me last night and I went to see my informant, Germain Girbe, whom everyone knows in Montbard.

He lives on the road to Châtillon "under the rocks of Montbard", a small house he built himself and where he raised his family... four daughters.

He was a construction worker. He worked hard, especially at the Tuilerie de la route de Marmagne, where he extracted the clay needed to make bricks and tiles.

Today, he enjoys a well-earned retirement, and at this home where he discovers a splendid panorama of Monbard and a vast region.

Mr. Girbe has always liked to observe the sky, the stars. He thus witnessed a certain number of phenomena which have been witnessed by other people.

For example, a huge aerolite which passed over Montbard in 1938, before crossing the sky of Paris where it burst into three parts, which continued their fantastic race.

Also, whenever a satellite, carrier rocket, etc., Russian or American, has been visible in our sky, he made it a rule to observe them.

Even to inform his friends to make them benefit from this vision.

Let us add, to end this preamble, that Mr. Girbe is perfectly sane. Moreover, what he observed was observed by one of his daughters and a son-in-law.

***

It's Saturday, February 12, around 6:30 p.m. It was not completely dark. From his garden, which is an excellent observation spot, Mr. Girbe noticed two luminous dots above the horizon, to the west of Montbard.

From where he was, these lights were above the mountain road that joins Crépand and Saint-Germain-les-Senailly. It gave the impression of being ten kilometers away. But M. Girbe knows that distances are difficult to assess and does not guarantee anything.

He quickly got his binoculars and he realized that the yellowish-white luminous objects were three points in number.

Two superimposed and the third to the right of the highest. They seemed connected by luminous streaks vaguely in the shape of a Y. The phenomenon was observed for quite a long time; it did not move or moved very little. Then mist or clouds hid it.

Mr. Girbe his family then returned home. But they were obviously intrigued. Around 7:30 p.m., Mr. Girbe went out again.

The mist had dissipated and the phenomenon had changed shape. It was in the form of a ball which, at this distance, could have approximately the size of a football. The color had also changed and inside the circle there were multiple sparkles like diamond or crystal reflections. It seemed to have drifted off a bit.

Again the clouds formed a screen and Mr. Girbe went home to watch television. He went out at 9 p.m., but he no longer saw the object, either because it had moved away or because of the poor visibility.

***

That's it. It will be recognized that the description and meticulousness and the good faith of the observer cannot be doubted. Besides, he has witnesses.

We thought at first that it could be a game organized on the hill, quite high, by scouts or any other group of young people.

But the observer is formal. The phenomenon was slightly above the horizon line in the sky... Above, it seems, a large uninhabited region which lies between Crépand, Monfort, Saint-Rémy and Viserny.

Perhaps there is an explanation for what at first glance seems like an inexplicable phenomenon. But which one?

Jean CANESSE.