ALSACAT-2008-11-11-FESSENHEIM-1
The UFO blog ufolog62.unblog.fr reportedly published the testimony of Johan Martins on his observation in Fessenheim on November 11, 2008, at 11:38 p.m.:
"I fell on my buttocks. We are on November 11, 2008, it is 11:42 p.m. at the hou im typing this email. I just saw a luminous square or diamond with rounded edges thing, in Fessenheim Haut-Rhin at 11:38 p.m.. I threw myself on my window and nothing anymore. But I assure you ive seen this thing. I'm not paranoid, far from it."
| Date: | November 11, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 11:38 p.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | November 11, 2008 |
| Reporting delay: | Minutes. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Fessenheim |
| Place: | ? |
| Latitude: | 47.916 |
| Longitude: | 7.536 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 1 km |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 1 |
| Witness(es) ages: | ? |
| Witness(es) types: | ? |
| Reporting channel: | By the web to a UFO blog. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | ? |
| Visibility conditions: | Night |
| UFO observed: | Yes |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | No |
| Entities: | No |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Puzzled. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Possible Chinese lantern. |
[Ref. isu1:] "ISUNDGAU" BLOG:
This blog published several Alstatian cases fished on the web, including this one:
Fessenheim (Haut-Rhin)
November 11, 2008 at 23h 38
"I fell on my ass. We are November 11, 2008, it is 11:42 p.m. when I begin to type this email. I just saw a luminous thing of square or diamond shape with rounded edges, in Fessenheim Haut Rhin at 11:38 p.m.. I threw myself at my window and nothing more. But I assure having seen this thing. I'm not paranoid, far from it."
Comment # 10 - Testimony of Johan Martins on the blog ufolog62.unblog.fr
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"ufolog62.unblog.fr" could have been the original source of this report; but the indicated URL only brings a "page not found" error.
In the form of paper bag, a Chinese lanterns may look "square or diamond, rounded at the edges," the shape described by witness.
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Above: a Chinese lantern.
The report is obviously far too incomplete to allow any certain conclusion whatsoever.
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.
So 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.
Possible Chinese lantern.
* = 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 |
| Editeur: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | March 9, 2016 | Creation, [isu1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 9, 2016 | First published. |
