Cette page en français
See here for reporting information.
| Number: | MA0006 |
|---|---|
| Date written: | March 22, 2010 |
| Date received: | March 22, 2010 |
| Date published: | April 7, 2010 |
| Date of sighting: | March 18, 2010 |
| Place of sighting: | Morocco, Casablanca |
| Original language of report: | French |
| Reported using: | |
| Unreleased information: | Name, firstname, email address |
| Investigation, additional information: | None |
| Explanation: | Not looked for. Party balloon? |
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Sent: March 22, 2010 Good evening Mr. Patrick Gross, I sends to you a copy/paste of an electronic message I sent to the Geipan on March 18, 2010: "Good evening, Let me write to you in order to report the phenomenon I witnessed. It occurred on March 18, 2010, at approximately 18:00 in Casablanca in Morocco. The duration of the observation is approximately 1 minute. The object was approximately between 100 and 200 meters of the ground (it was a little higher as soon as I saw it then it slightly lowered altitude I have the impression). it followed a horizontal linear trajectory slightly downward, without acceleration nor deceleration (I think at constant speed). Its shape and its size resemble a coarse soccer ball of chestnut color, it did not make any noise, and no odor is to be reported. The object did not disappear, it moved away and thus I did not have it any more in my field of vision. I specify that there was no wind thus I do not think that it can be a floating plastic bag in the sky for example. Hereby attached 4 photographs that I took with my digital camera Canon Digital Ixus 65 (I used the maximum zoom), and I suppose that you have powerful tools for image processing in particular what relates to the zoom. Best regards. Note: I would be curious to know your conclusions, in how much time you deal with this kind of information and where to consult your conclusions concerning this matter and thank you." I was answered in a courteous manner, unfortunately Geipan exclusively treats the observations of UFO on the French territory. Nevertheless it preserves my file on a purely informative basis. Because of that the Geipan invited me to look to the following link and I discovered your website which seems to me among the most complete and serious among the list that I saw. Therefore I send you the photographs as attached files and I would be curious to know the conclusions. Best regards. |
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I just discovered that ufologist Gérard Lebat mentions this observation with my page as source:
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Source: https://books.google.fr/books?id=lLbGBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA308&dq=%22Patrick+Gross%22+OVNI&hl=fr&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Patrick%20Gross%22%20OVNI&f=false
He said that he believed it would not be a "party balloon" because the "Chinese lanterns" are hardly sold in Maroc...
Alas, he commits a confusion about my words that I want to clarify:
For me, a Chinese lantern is a Chinese latern and a party balloon is a party balloon. It's not the same thing at all. If I had thought that the observation was explainable by a Chinese lantern, I would have written "Chinese lantern", not "party balloon."
The Chinese lantern is a kind of "mini-montgolfier"; it is by heating the air trapped in the thing that it rises. A "party balloon" is a rubber or mylar balloon that rises because it is filled with a gas lighter than air.
Just by looking at the pictures, anyone should have understood that I would never have told that this could be a Chinese lantern; which is a luminous thing! But a party balloon, yes, that is possible.
Anyway, a difficulty in obtaining a Chinese lantern in Morocco in 2010 is also a questionable argument for two reasons: you just have to order them by mail via the web, and on the other hand, there are numbers of Chinese lanterns in the history of UFOs, since at least 1896, which were simply hand-crafted on location.
Finally, I would like to point out yet another possible explanation, given by Gérard Lebat; which seems very plausible to me: a black plastic bag, as they are often used in that country...
(Or, I also think, a brown paper bag, such as tose found everywhere...)
