ALSACAT-1975-02-17-STRASBOURG-1
In the 1970s, Mrs. Gueudeulot, archivist of the French ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit, noted observation reports transmitted by the magazine's correspondents. This archive surfaced in the 2020s through the work of the "Sceau" association, which is dedicated to the preservation of ufological archives.
Among the apparently unpublished cases found in there, is an observation of February 17, 1977, in Strasbourg, originating from a letter of May 11, 1975 by the witness, Mrs. Gaillard.
From 6:30 p.m. to 6:37 p.m., she wrote, she observed a blue glow, like a star at a certain distance from Venus, which approached the latter in 7 minutes, to touch it (in appearance). Clouds then hid Venus while the blue glow was still visible.
| Date: | February 17, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 06:30 p.m. |
| Duration: | 7 minutes. |
| First known report date: | May 11, 1975. |
| Reporting delay: | 3 months. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Strasbourg |
| Place: | ? |
| Latitude: | 48.574 |
| Longitude: | 7.751 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 4 km. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | Adult or aged. |
| Witness(es) types: | Woman. |
| Reporting channel: | Letter from witness to ufology magazine LDLN. |
|---|---|
| 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: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Possible Venus. |
[Ref. aldl:] MRS. GUEUDELOT, "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT" ARCHIVE:
|
FEBRUARY 17, 1975.-
STRASBOURG. - (67)
Hour: from 06:30 p.m. to 06:37 p.m.
Mrs. GAILLARD observed a blue glow, like a star at a certain distance from Venus, which approached the latter in 7 minutes, touching it (in apparence). Clouds then hid Venus and the blue glow was still visible.
(By letter of May II, 1975).
|
Venus was at the time and place of the sighting at the azimuth of 246°, and the elevation of 14°.
Just above and to his right was Jupiter.
|
I then thought that the "blue glow" would have been Venus, which sometimes appears white, sometimes bluish, and Jupiter which is never bluish but always orange, would have been taken for Venus. For this to happen, Ms. Gaillard must not be used to observing the planets, which is possible.
On the other hand, there is a problem: the two planets are very close, and remain very close. There is no percetible approach of one to the other during the 7 minutes of observation, a perceptible rapprochement occurring only around 11:00 p.m.
For Venus: Magnitude -4.1 (91.17% of the surface is illuminated).
For Jupiter: Magnitude -2.1 (99.83% of the surface is illuminated).
There is also little chance that an arriving cloud would have hidden one without hiding the other very soon as well.
So I don't have a sure explanation, but it is very, very odd that Mme Gaillard mentioned Venus, but not Jupiter which is right next to it and also clearly visible.
Possible Venus.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | September 12, 2023 | Creation, [ald1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | September 12, 2023 | First published. |
