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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.

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Case of Mulhouse, on October 25, 1971:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1971-10-25-MULHOUSE-1

Summary:

According to various Press and ufology sources, on October 25, 1971, at about 6 p.m., there were several testimonies about a large flying object in the shape of a flattened ball, like a flying saucer, of "an apparent diameter of one meter", of bright orange-red color, with a tail of the same color.

The object was first seen above the Raemel, moving from east to west at an altitude of about 3 km, at a very high speed, without any noise. It reportedly passed through the atmosphere in a few seconds to disappear on the horizon in the direction of Durlinsdorf.

A correspondent of the ufology magazine LDLN, Mr. Nueffer, stated on the 27th in the morning without knowing about the Press article, to the newspaper L'Alsace, that he saw from the street of Didenheim in Mulhouse, between 5:55 p.m. ad 06:00 p.m., an object going from East North East to the West-Southwest, specifically from the Pierrefontaine district to the ZUP. It was orange-yellow and did not emit any noise. At outstretched arm, it was 3/4 of the length of the thumb, and the witness estimated its speed at about 1000 km/h by comparison to the speed of planes crossing the sound barrier. The object looked like a ball of fire.

Christian Valentin, writing about the case in his 2012 book, notes that some witnesses estimated it was a "meteorite"; which split in two before extinction.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: October 25, 1971
Time: ~06:00 p.m.
Duration: A few seconds.
First known report date: October 26, 1971
Reporting delay: 1 day.

Geographical data:

Department: Haut-Rhin
City: Mulhouse
Place: From the street of Didenheim, UFO in the sky.
Latitude: 47.729
Longitude: 7.306
Uncertainty radius: 300 m

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: 1
Number of known witnesses: 1
Number of named witnesses: 1
Witness(es) ages: Adult.
Witness(es) types: Local ufologist.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: Local ufologist witness to the regional Press.
Type of location: City street.
Visibility conditions: Night
UFO observed: Yes
UFO arrival observed: Yes
UFO departure observed: Yes
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: The 06:05 meteor for that day.

Sources:

[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":

68) HAUT.RHIN

Mulhouse

October 25, 1971, about 06:00 p.m.

One could read in the newspaper "Alsace" that, according to the concordant witness of several people, a large flying craft, in the shape of a flattened ball, flying saucer style, of an apparent diameter of one meter, of vivid red-orange color, with a tail of the same color, was seen after 06:00 p.m. in the sky, above the village.

The object first appeared above the Raemel, moving from East to West, at an altitude of about 3 km, at a very fast speed, without any noise. It crossed the atmosphere in a few seconds to disappear on the horizon's line in the direction of Durlinsdorf.

On the 27th in the morning without having read the article, I went to the newsroom and I state this:

Mulhouse. I was on the Didenheim street, between 05:55 p.m. and 06:00 p.m. The object was moving from the NE-E to the SW-W, for more accuracy from the district of Pierrefontaine to the Zup. It was of orange color verging on the yellow and emitted no noise. Extending the arm, it was 3/4 of the length of the thumb. I estimate its speed as abour 1.000 km/h by comparison with the speed of planes crossing the wall of sound. As to the shape of the object, it resembled a ball of fire.

(Reported by Mr. Nueffer).

Editor's note - If the trajectories are correct, it seems that two objects circulated at the same time, or almost in Mulhouse one one part and in Mulhouse on the other part on convergent trajectories. A careful observer must have seen them somewhere between Montbéliard and Belfort.

[Ref. pgs1:] MYSELF, PREVIOUSLY:

Observation in Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, October 25, 1971 at about 06:00 p.m.

The regional daily newspaper "L'Alsace" reported that several people made concordant testimonies as for the appearance of a strange flying machine in the shape of flattened sphere, of an "apparent diameter of 1 meter" (?), of bright orange color, with a tail also of bright orange color. The thing was seen at 06:00 P.M. above the village of Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, on October 25, 1971.

The object was first spotted above the Raemel, moving from the East towards the West, at an altitude which has been estimated 3 kilometers, without making any noise. It crossed the sky in three seconds and has been lost from sight behind the horizon in the visual direction of Durlinsdorf.

A local ufology enthusiast, Mr. Nueffer, even observed the object independently from the other witnesses. He was in Mulhouse, in the street of Didenheim and reported to the ufological magazine "Lumières dans la nuit" (Lights in the Night):

"I was in the street of Didenheim, between 05:55 P.M.and 06:00 P.M.. The object moved from the NE-E towards the SW-W, for more precision from the Pierrefontaine district to the Zup. It was of orange color drawing towards the yellow and did not emit noise. At arm's length, it had 3/4 the length of the thumb. I estimated its speed at approximately 1000 km/h per comparison with that of the planes crossing the sound barrier. As for the shape of the object, it resembled a ball of fire."

Webmaster's note: it seems that there is not the least reason to think than that was anything else than a meteor. It is regretable that I did not find an estimate of the duration of the observation by Mr. Nueffer.

[Ref. isu1:] "ISUNDGAU" BLOG:

That blog presents several cases in Alsace they fished on the web, including this one:

Observation on Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, on October 25, 1971 at about 06:00 p.m.

The regional newspaper "L'Alsace" reported that several people made concordant witnesses about the appearance of a large flying craft in she shape of a flattened sphere, of an "apparent diameter of 1 meter" (?), of sharp orange color, with a tail also of a sharp orange color. The thing was seen at 06:00 p.m. above the village of Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, on October 25, 1971.

The objet was reportedly first seen above the Raemel, going from the East to the West, at an altitude that would have been estimated as 3 kilometers, without producing the least noise. It reportedly crossed the sky in three seconds was reportedly lost from sight behind the horizon in the visual direction of Durlinsdorf.

A local ufology buff, Mr. Nueffer, also observed the object independently from the other witnesses. He was located in Mulhouse, street of Didenheim and reported to the magazine "Lumière dans la Nuit:

"I was on the street of Didenheim, between 05:55 p.m. and 06:00 p.m.. The object was moving from the NE-E to the SW-W, for more accuracy from the district of Pierrefontaine to the Zup. It was of orange color verging on the yellow and emitted no noise. Extending the arm, it was the length of the thumb. I estimated its speed as about 1000 km/h by comparison with the speed of planes crossing the wall of sound. As of the shape of the object, it resembled a ball of fire."

There is no source reference for this case, cited among other cases. There is simply, at the end of the article, a series of links to several ufology websites and web pages, including a link to the old URL of the home page of my own website.

Discussion:

Map.

Nothing here allows to discard that it was a meteor.

Evaluation:

The 06:05 meteor for that day.

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 March 31, 2017 Creation, [ldl1], [pgs1], [isu1].
1.0 Patrick Gross March 31, 2017 First published.

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This page was last updated on March 31, 2017.