ALSACAT -> Home 

Cette page en françaisCliquez!

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.

Previous case Next case >

Case of Wittelsheim, on August 8, 2004:

Case number:

ALSACAT-2004-08-08-WITTELSHEIM-1

Summary:

Jean-Luc Lemaire, ufologist in the Ardennes, posted on the web on August 9, 2004, that there was a sighting in "Wietelsheim" in the Haut-Rhin on August 8, 2004, at 11:30 p.m..

Six adults who wanted to remain anonymous saw "a mass represented by 20-30 luminous dots distributed in 3D and symmetrically."

The mass is said to have been "nearly translucent", but reflective of light.

The thing was initially stationary and then "moved very quickly to disappear suddenly, leaving a luminous trail."

It is added that the altitude was estimated to have been 20,000 feet, the size was that of a big finger and a half at outstretched arm, the speed was Mach 2, there was no noise, and the position and direction were not yet known.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: August 8, 2004
Time: 11:30 p.m.
Duration: ?
First known report date: August 9, 2004
Reporting delay: Hours, 1 day.

Geographical data:

Department: Haut-Rhin
City: Wittelsheim
Place: ?
Latitude: 47.809
Longitude: 7.193
Uncertainty radius: 5 km.

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: 6
Number of known witnesses: ?
Number of named witnesses: 0
Witness(es) ages: Adults.
Witness(es) types: ?

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: Ufologist Jean-Luc Lemaire on the web.
Type of location: ?
Visibility conditions: Night.
UFO observed: Yes
UFO arrival observed: ?
UFO departure observed: Yes
Entities: No
Photographs: No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es): Maybe.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): Maybe.
Witness(es) feelings: ?
Witnesses interpretation: ?

Classifications:

Hynek: NL
ALSACAT: Insufficient information.

Sources:

[Ref. rio1:] "R.I.O." WEB FORUM:

285 Observation on August 8, 2004 in Wietelsheim (Haut-Rhi n)

R.I.O.
August 9, 2004

Hello all,

Jean-Luc LEMAIRE informs us of an observation:

=================================================

09 août 2004 12:00 - Témoignage d'observation d'un ovni

Place: Wietelsheim [sic] (Haut-Rhin)

Date of the observation: August 8, 2004, at 11:30 p.m.

Number of witnesses: 6 adults (wished anonimity)

Estimated altitude: 20 000 feet

Estimated size: 1.5 big finger at arm's length

Noises: none

Speed: mach 2

Exact position and direction: investigating

A masse represented by 20 to 30 very luminous spots distributed in 3D and in a symetrical manner was observed. The witnesses noticed the almost translucent mass, but reflecting light. At the beginning it was stationnary, then it moved very fast to disappear all of a sudden leaving a luminous trail.

Sketch and continuation on the website: http://exobiologie.fr.st

Jean-Luc Lemaire
ufologist
20, rue waroquier
08000 Charleville-Mézières
Phone.: [-]

=================================================

Best regards,

Jean-Jacques YVARS

[Ref. spa1:] "SPICA" UFOLOGY ASSOCIATION:

August 09, 2004 12:00 - Witness report of the observation of a UFO

Place: Wietelsheim [sic] (Haut-Rhin)

Date of the observation: August 8, 2004, at 11:30 p.m.

Number of witnesses: 6 adults (wished anonimity)

Estimated altitude: 20 000 feet

Estimated size: 1.5 big finger at arm's length

Noises: none

Speed: mach 2

Exact position and direction: investigating

A masse represented by 20 to 30 very luminous spots distributed in 3D and in a symetrical manner was observed. The witnesses noticed the almost translucent mass, but reflecting light. At the beginning it was stationnary, then it moved very fast to disappear all of a sudden leaving a luminous trail.

Sketch and continuation on the website: http://exobiologie.fr.st

Jean-Luc Lemaire
ufologist
20, rue waroquier
08000 Charleville-Mézières
Phone.: [-]

[Ref. spa2:] "SPICA" UFOLOGY ASSOCIATION:

Scan.

WIETELSHEIM [sic] (68) Sunday, August 8, 2004 at 23:30

Source: Jean-Luc Lemaire

6 witnesses: A mass represented by 20-30 bright points distributed in 3D and in. a symmetrically way was observed. Witnesses noticed the almost translucent mass, but reflecting light. At first it was stationary, then it moved very quickly to suddenly disappear, leaving a luminous trail.

Discussion:

Map.

The primary source is nowhere to be found on the web now, and crucial information is missing, such as:

The color; as an orange color would have pointed at Chinese lanterns.

The duration; which sometimes allow to discard various possible explanations.

The case of the "almost translucent" "mass" strongly suggests that there was no real mass, it was likely been inferred from light scattering but there was not necessarily truly a mass on which the lights would have been carried.

The speed of "Mach 2" is quite perplexing, I wonder how it was estimated. If it were Chinese lanterns, they were certainly not at 20,000 feet, and thus this speed estimated could be dramatically overstated. What mattered was the duration of the observation, the angular speed of displacement, as "absolute" speed and distance generally cannot be provided reliably for something whose nature is unknown.

So this could have been Chinese lanterns, or a "real UFO", or a distant squadron of helicopters, for example.

Evaluation:

Insufficient information.

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 September 11, 2015 Creation, [rio1], [spa1], [spa2].
1.0 Patrick Gross September 11, 2015 First published.

Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict



 Feedback  |  Top  |  Back  |  Forward  |  Map  |  List |  Home
This page was last updated on September 11, 2015.