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 Oberschaeffolsheim, on December 21, 1988:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1988-12-21-OBERSCHAEFFOLSHEIM-1

Summary:

The ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit #297 for May - June 1989 reported that on December 21, 1988, Thierry Paniel, of Oberschaeffolsheim, in the suburbs of Strasbourg, had made a observation, from his bedroom window, between 7:20 p.m. and 7:40 p.m.

The magazine indicates that he had seen an ovoid, luminous object, which at times stopped for more than a minute. When it moved, it became much brighter, and its brightness decreased when it stopped moving. No noise was heard during the sighting, which lasted about ten minutes. The thing disappeared during the passage of a plane, in the distance.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	December 21, 1988
Time:	07:30 p.m.
Duration:	10 minutes.
First known report date:	May 1989.
Reporting delay:	Day, 5 months.

Geographical data:

Department:	Bas-Rhin
City:	Oberschaeffolsheim
Place:	From bedroom window.
Latitude:	48.585
Longitude:	7.649
Uncertainty radius:	800 m.

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	1
Number of known witnesses:	1
Number of named witnesses:	1
Witness(es) ages:	?
Witness(es) types:	Male resident.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit.
Type of location:	From bedroom window at home.
Visibility conditions:	Night.
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	Yes.
Entities:	No.
Photographs:	No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	?
Witnesses interpretation:	?

Classifications:

Hynek:	NL
ALSACAT:	Insufficient information, low strangeness.

Sources:

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

December 21, 1988

Thierry Paniel, of Oberschaeffolsheim, in the suburbs of Strasbourg, made an observation that day, from his bedroom window, between 7:20 p.m. and 7:40 p.m.

He saw an ovoid, luminous object, which at times stopped for more than a minute. When it moved, it became much brighter, and its brightness decreased when it stopped moving. No noise was heard during the sighting, which lasted about ten minutes. The thing disappeared during the passage of a plane, in the distance.

[Ref. cnu1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "CNEGU":

Ref: F/ /67/ 88 12 21 (01) IQ=2 IE=0 IPI=P?

On Wednesday, December 21, 1988, between 7:20 p.m. (UTC: 6:20 p.m.) and 7:40 p.m. (6:40 p.m.), Mr. Thierry PANIEL, from OBERSCHAEFFOLSHEIM (67), in the suburbs of STRASBOURG, saw, from his bedroom window, a ovoid, luminous object, which at times stops for more than a minute. As it moves, it becomes much brighter, and its brightness decreases when it tries to move. No noise was heard during the observation which lasted about ten minutes. The object disappeared during the passage of an airplane.

(Source: LDLN nr 297, May-June 89, page 30)

Discussion:

For lack of angular size, lack of estimation of luminosity, lack of investigation, it is difficult to discuss this observation.

Evaluation:

Insufficient information, low strangeness.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

[ldl1] * "Observations récentes - La liste s'allonge...", in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #297, page 30, Mai / June 1989.
[cnu1] * "1988-89, catalogue by the Comité Nord-Est des Groupements Ufologiques (CNEGU), France, page 2, digital version of 2006.

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	January 12, 2023	Creation, [ldl1], [cnu1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	January 12, 2023	First published.

This page was last updated on January 12, 2023.