ALSACAT-2010-08-21-VENDENHEIM-1
Someone sent a testimony by the web to the Alsatian ufology association SPICA, reporting a sighting of a luminous phenomenon on August 21, 2010, at 11:00 p.m. in Vendenheim in the Bas-Rhin.
People reportedly observed a luminous phenomenon moving slowly up and at a constant speed. The large size and brightness would exclude a "plane or meteorite."
The 10 observers estimated that the phenomenon appeared to be relatively low.
| Date: | August 21, 2010 |
|---|---|
| Time: | ~11:00 p.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | November 16, 2010 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours, 3 months. |
| Department: | Bas-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Vendenheim |
| Place: | |
| Latitude: | 48.666 |
| Longitude: | 7.714 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 2 km |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 10 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | ? |
| Witness(es) types: | ? |
| Reporting channel: | By the web to the Alsatian ufology association SPICA. |
|---|---|
| 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: | Too big to be a plane or meteorite. |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Probable Chinese lantern, insufficient information. |
[Ref. rnc1:] "RESEAU NATIONAL CIVIL DE SURVEILLANCE DU CIEL":
08/21/2010 - 11:00 p.m. - Bas-Rhin (67) - Luminous phenomenon
Date: 08/21/2010
Hour: 11:00 p.m.
Place: Vendenheim (Bas-Rhin - 67)
Observer: Not communicated
Source: http://www.spica.org/faq.php
Reported on: Not communicated
REPORT:
Quote:
Vendenheim 08/21/10 at about 11 p.m.
Vendenheim, around 23h, on 08/21/10, we observed a luminous phenomenon moving slowly up and at a constant speed. The large size and brightness exclude airplanes or meteorite. According to the 10 observers that we were, the phenomenon appeared to be relatively low.
[Ref. spa2:] UFOLOGY GROUP "SPICA":
| City | Date and hour of observation | General shape Identification |
General color Hypothesis |
Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VENDENHEIM | Saturday 21 August 2010 at 11:00 p.m. | Unusual luminosity Unidentified |
information not communicated None |
Unsolved -lack of info |
|
There is so little information that many possibilities of ordinary explanation exist: satellite, remote helicopter, projector, Chinese lantern...
What about the color? The duration? The angle of elevation? The angular size? The direction? The exact location? These are most basic data, and as they often are not reported; which excludes any possibility of proving any explanation.
I favor the Chinese lantern explanation because we are told that it's low, slow, to "big" for a plane, there is no mention of a sound. And it is not just something common in the area, but also the most likely to intrigue people.
Chinese lanterns are one cause of some old tales of UFO sightings: During the "airship" wave of 1896 - 1897 in the USA, during the wave of 1972 in the US Midwest, etc.
Since these miniature hot air paper balloons can be ordered on the Internet at very low cost - they also commonly found in Alsace now in stores - there is no need anymore to take the trouble of manufacturing them yourself.
Since 2005, about everywhere and of course in Alsace, many people who do not yet know about them report them as UFOs or at least as a subject of puzzlement: "It was not planes, not satellites, not helicopters, etc...", commonly appears in the stories. Indeed they aren't.
In principle, any ufologist worthy of the title should be able to recognize a story related for sure or at least possibly to Chinese lanterns, but there are still ufologists who do not want to listen, or quibble, demanding that a guilty lantern is handed to them otherwise they want the story to remain a "UFO report".
Most of the time, I certainly cannot "scientifically prove" or provide "hard evidence" that this or that report is explained by Chinese lanterns; but I see nothing opposes it and nothing would justify to call it spacecraft from another world or who knows what else.
It is sometimes possible to find that there was, precisely at that time, in the vicinity, a release of lanterns, during a party, a wedding party, a birthday party etc. But these releases are now so usual in Alsace at least that they are not necessarily mentioned on festivity calendars.
Since 2005, they constitute the bulk of the "testimonies" of UFOs found on websites devoted to the subject of UFOs and essentially publishing such "web report"; generally the only treatment is the publication, without any information on a possible cause, without any investigation or comment.
In Alsace, such releases are especially popular now since fireworks and firecrackers, long tolerated, are now prohibited for use unless special exemptions; Alsatians therefore largely adopted the lanterns.
As these lanterns are usually released at private or public parties, they are most often seen on Saturday nights, often at wedding dates or official festivities such as the National Day or New Year's Eve, usually between 10 p.m. and midnight. They are then usually released in clusters. But sometimes the purchaser performs a "test flight" a few days before, sometimes with a single lantern.
Note that the lanterns have also evolved: if initially they were almost always white in color, giving an orange light during their flight, there are now all colors available and they produce other colors in flight than the usual "reddish", orange, yellow.
|
Above: a Chinese lantern.
Probable Chinese lantern, insufficient information.
* = 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 | July 29, 2015 | Creation, [rnc1], [spa2]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | July 29, 2015 | First published. |
