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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 in Alsace, on February 18, 2005:

Case number:

ALSACAT-2005-02-18-ALSACE-1

Summary:

The regional newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace for February 19, 2005, informed that on February 18, 2005 around 10:30 p.m., a luminous phenomenon was observed in the Haut-Rhin sky and in the Vosges by numerous witnesses from around Mulhouse, Guebwiller and Colmar who had described similar facts at the operational center of the gendarmerie.

Witnesses assured that a light had moved at high speed in the direction Germany - Vosges. Radar sets at the Drachenbronn Air Base 901 had detected nothing, but airline pilots had also observed the phenomenon.

The gendarmes of the brigades of Ribeauvillé, Blodelsheim and Guebwiller had also been put on alert and had started research to locate the place of a possible crash of a meteorite, but the research ended in the night without result.

This meteorite affair naturally interested ufologists in the region and those in the Vosges, all of whom understood that it was a meteor, with the possibility of finding the meteorite, and not an extraterrestrial craft.

In their bulletin SPICA News #7 of January 2006, the Alsatian association of ufology SPICA recalled the case, and explained that it was important to document it, otherwise others would later claim that it was a UFO....

On a UFO sightings chronology page, Jérôme Beau indicated that on January 18, 2005 - actually February - at 10:00 p.m. in the sky of the Vosges, France, a fireball crossed the sky.

"Some 700 witnesses will be gathered from motorists, walkers and even firemen on intervention at the time of the phenomenon. The fireball was observed from Epinal to Baccarat through Gerardmer, Saint Dié and Vittel, and in Alsace and even Dijon. Some saw that night a strong bluish brightness invade nature. In Strasbourg seismographs have reacted to the sound waves of the fireball but did not record an impact. By deducting the meteorite was not larger than a handball ball."

In a listing of UFO sighting reports in the Haut-Rhin on their website, the Alsatian ufology association SPICA noted that on Friday, February 18, 2005, at 10:30 p.m., from an unknown place of Alsace, a "luminous trace" of "several colors" was seen, said by the SPICA to be both "unidentified", and by "hypothesis" a "natural reentry" - in other words, a meteor.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: February 18, 2005
Time:
Duration:
First known report date:
Reporting delay:

Geographical data:

Department: ?
City: ?
Place:
Latitude:
Longitude:
Uncertainty radius:

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: ?
Number of known witnesses: ?
Number of named witnesses: ?
Witness(es) ages: ?
Witness(es) types: ?

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: ?
Type of location: ?
Visibility conditions: Night
UFO observed: Yes
UFO arrival observed: Yes
UFO departure observed: Yes
Entities: No
Photographs: No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es): No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): No.
Witness(es) feelings: Puzzled.
Witnesses interpretation: ?

Classifications:

Hynek: ?
ALSACAT: The meteor of February 18, 2005, at about 10:30 p.m.

Sources:

[Ref. dna1:] NEWSPAPERL "DERNIERES NOUVELLES D'ALSACE":

Scan.

Haut-Rhin

Strange luminous phenomenon

On the evening from Friday to Saturday, at about 10:30 p.m., a luminous phenomenon was observed in the Haut-Rhin and the Vosges sky by many witnesses.

Several people in the vicinity of Mulhouse, Guebwiller and Colmar described similar events to the operational center of the gendarmerie. Witnesses assured that a light was moving at high speed in the direction from the Vosges to Germany. While the radar set of the air forve base 901 in Drachenbronn detected nothing, airline pilots also observed the phenomenon.

The police brigades of Ribeauvillé, Blodelsheim and Guebwiller have also been put on alert. A search has been undertaken to locate the site of a possible crash of a meteorite. These were stopped in the night without any finding.

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

Scan.

ARE WE IN THE YEAR OF THE METEORS*?

At the end of February, we received the information from a witness that a ball, very bright and yellowish in color reportedly crashed near Colmar. The article of the Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace for February 20 confirms these facts to us and that several witnesses telephoned to the gendarmeries, but also to the editorial staff of the newspaper. Several Gendarmerie brigades were put on alert in order to locate the site of a possible crash, but to no avail. A second DNA article of February 22 informs us that this phenomenon was not only visible from the Haut-Rhin, but also from the Bas-Rhin.

At the request of our Colleagues of the Vosges, who opened an investigation in collaboration with the Observatory of Epinal, we ask Mr. Willy Bodenmuller of DNA, but also the newspaper L'Alsace to publish a call for witnesses in their pages, this to locate the possible spot of fall of this meteorite. The first investigations locate this place beyond the Vosges, but before the Haute-Marne. On February 25, the date of publication of the call for witnesses, the telephone at SPICA's office had very little respite. More than 60 telephone testimonials, and more than 40 E-Mails have reached us.

Although all the witnesses describe a phenomenon that can be identified with a meteorite, it should be noted that several colors are described, but it is also noted that there were similar phenomena at other dates and times. Indeed, with a maximum of testimonies were about the date of Friday, February 18, witnesses also describe to us an atmospheric reentry (because we are not sure that these are meteorites and we owe it to ourselves to be able to tell the difference between a natural object, the meteorite, and an object of artificial origin, such as rocket debris for example) on Friday, February 11, but also on Saturday 26 February. At the end of March, other calls arrive. This time a new reentry on Friday March 25, then again through the intermediary of DernièRes Nouvelles d'Alsace a new reentry on Tuesday, April 5.

Although all the descriptions seem to correspond to a meteorite fall, we nevertheless carried out investigations on the ground to, in the first place, give more concrete information to our friends in the Vosges, but also to confirm the trajectories in order to keep the memory of these observations, which as we know, in a few years, will have become possible observations of UFOs. But let's go into more detail on the various observations.

February 11 around 10:30 p.m., it's an orange ball, followed by a large trail that crossed, according to the description, the Bas-Rhin sky. For the witness, it would have passed over Nordheim and would have disintegrated just before falling on the horizon.

February 18 brings the greatest number of testimonies. It was 10:22 p.m. when several hundred people observed a luminous ball moving from east to west. If for these data all the witnesses are unanimous, they differ on other apsects. For many witnesses, this

11

Scan.

reentry illuminated the environment"..... The phenomenon illuminated the surroundings very widely, in a blue reminiscent of nightfall color....", another witness tells us "... My husband and I were invaded by an intense, white light. We first thought of the lighting of a plane in the landing approcah." At the sight of all the testimonies, we note that all the people did not have this impression of an environment lit by the luminous ball, however one cannot locate the places of observation by a possible passage above the witnesses.

Indeed, these descriptions are made by many witnesses from Duttlenheim (South West of Strasbourg) to Cernay (West of Mulhouse). Yet between these places, no one has noticed this illumination. The only thing in common between these witnesses was that they were all in cars. Another unusual thing, only a few witnesses saw two balls, three of them described the bursting, separation of the ball into two parts, one large and one small, making approximately, in apparent size, half of the first part. There too, nothing allows to give a trajectory, the witnesses are in Strasbourg Robertsau, Kogenheim and Colmar. A witness, having only a field of vision towards the West saw the two balls, without having observed the separation (see computer reproduction). The colors also differ, from the white ball with a blue trail, the blue ball with a white trail, to the emerald green ball without trail, through the turquoise ball or even in different colors (see drawing of a witness). Some had a halo and some didn't. Only one witness noticed a noise, like that of a blast, after the passage of the meteorite. Was he on the trajectory?

When I put this information on paper, I had no news from our colleagues in the Vosges, except the information from the newspaper L'Alsace where we learn that the meteorite could have fallen in a triangle between Vittel, Neufchateau and Bourdons-sur-Rognon. Their research has remained unsuccessful so far. We will certainly come back to this fall during our next issue.

February 26, we also have the testimony of another atmospheric reentry, again a green ball having approximately the same trajectory as the previous ones. The witness had the impression that it crashed in Quatzenheim.

Then it was on March 25, several people again saw a white luminous ball cross the Alsatian region. Here too the trajectory was from East to West.

It was on April 5 that several people made the most recent sighting. It was young people from Rosenwiller who observed an

12

Scan.

atmospheric phenomenonsimilar to those already described, shortly after 11:00 p.m. Always the same descending curve, this time again in green color. Although this sighting was for these witnesses of very short duration, they saw it between two houses. There is a rather interesting and to the very least a strange thing. After their observation, they thought they would see it again on the way up to the highest point in the village, which took them two or even three minutes. Obviously, given the speed of entry of a meteor, it was already far away by this time.

But a few moments after arriving at the last crossroads in the village, they heard an explosion and felt a vibration coming from the ground. Naturally, our witnesses made a connection with what they had just observed. But, although we are still investigating the origin of this noise and vibration, it can hardly be attributed to the observed phenomenon. Indeed with a speed of approximately 72,000 to 180,000 km / h - if it is indeed a meteorite, the latter was already very far away. If the explosion and vibration were due to the impact, it would have been felt more strongly if it had crashed in the immediate vicinity of the observation site. Currently we are still awaiting some answers on this matter.

As I write these few lines, I learn from a witness that a new sighting, of what appears to be a meteorite, has been made from Rothau on April 21. It was a bluish ball, without a trail, which came from St-Dié (88) to move towards Natzwiller (67). The witness did not hear any noise.

And think that during these months from February to April 1, there is no very active metero showers! Nothing that is worth sticking out your necks in the coolness of the nights. Too bad, because we missed some great shows! On this point all the witnesses agree, it was grandiose, sublime, impressive, majestic and I forget the terms given by the witnesses of these small pieces coming from space and entering our atmosphere, a small residue of the planet formation of 4.5 billion years (sic L'Alsace).

* For info: some solid extraterrestrial bodies arrive in the vicinity of the Earth but, either made up of gas solidified at the very low interstellar temperature, or tiny mass, they vaporize in the upper atmosphere, only signaling themselves by a fleeting luminous trail, at an altitude of 120 km; they are meteorites, the luminous phenomenon called meteor.
The maximum speed of a meteorite in space is 42 km/s. The average speed of the Earth is 30 km/s. If the Earth were deprived of atmosphere and did not have a force of attraction, the speed of arrival on the ground would be the vector sum of the two speeds, that is to say approximately 12 km/s if the meteorite "caught up" with our planet, and 72 Km/s if they came upfront. But the atmosphere will slow down the meteorite according to its coefficient of aerodynamic penetration. In addition, the earth's attraction will also change the speed at any time.
Source: Alain Carion's booklet on meteorites

13

[Ref. gei1:] GROUPE D'ETUDES ET D'INFORMATIONS SUR LES PHENOMENES AEROSPATIAUX NON IDENTIFIES (G.E.I.P.A.N.):

EAST FEBRUARY 2005
Observed on: 02/18/2005
Region: Alsace
Department: Rhin (Bas)
Classe: B
Summary: Probable observation of an atmosperic reentry.
Description: On February 18, 2005 around 10:30 p.m., two witnesses in two departments in eastern France observed the very rapid passage of a green or white trail, according to witnesses, which disappeared in a few seconds. These people probably saw an atmospheric re-entry. Moreover, a few days later, the press will report the observation by many people located in the departments of north-eastern France of the fall of a small meteorite.
Report: None.

Details of the testimony
Witness
Date of the observation02/18/2005
Document number
Age Adult (more than 18)
Profession Students
Sex Male
Reaction Passive Curiosity
Credibility Normal Credibility
Conditions
Environment Country paths, roads
Weather conditions Not-specified
Hour of the observation Numbered: 10 p.m. 12 p.m.
Reference frame None
Distance between phenomenon and witness Not-specified
Start of the observation start of the observation by witness
End of the observation End of the observation by phenomenon
Localization
Angle of the site Low on the horizon
Direction of observation Not-specified
Heading Not-specified
Trajectory Descending
Natureof the observation Descriptive terms (lights, etc)
Characteristic of the observation With trail, tail, sparks, beam
Global shape Round, circular, ball
Color Orange, fire
Apparent size Not-Specified
Apparent Rapid, fast, quick
Noise Not-Specified
Effect on the environnement None
Number 1

Details of the testimony
Witness
Date of the observation02/18/2005
Document number
Age Adult (more than 18)
Profession Industry and trade
Sex Female
Reaction Passive Curiosity
Credibility Normal Credibility
Conditions
Environment Country paths, roads
Weather conditions Not-specified
Hour of the observation Numbered: 10 p.m. 12 p.m.
Reference frame Sky or clouds
Distance between phenomenon and witness Not-specified
Start of the observation Start of the observation by witness
End of the observation End of the observation by phenomenon
Localization
Angle of site Not-specified
Direction of observation Not-specified
Heading Not-specified
Trajectory Descending
Nature of the observation Others
Characteristic of the observation Unique
global shape Round, circular, ball
Color White (light color)
Apparent size Numbered
Apparent speed Rapid, great, fast
Noise No noise
Effect on the environnement None
Number 1

[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:

January 2005

18

At 10:00 p.m. In the sky of the Vosges (France), 1 fireball crosses the sky. Some 700 witnesses will be gathered from motorists, walkers and even firemen on intervention at the time of the phenomenon. The fireball was observed from Epinal to Baccarat through Gerardmer Saint Die and Vittel, in Alsace and even Dijon. Some saw that nighta strong bluish brightness invade nature. In Strasbourg seismographs have reacted to the sound waves of the fireball but did not record an impact. By deducting the meteorite was not larger than a handball ball.

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

City Date and hour of observation General shape
Identification
General color
Hypothesis
Conclusion
UNKNOWN-LOCATION Friday 18 February 2005 at 22h30 Luminous trace
Unidentified
Several colors
Natural reentry
Natural reentry

Discussion:

I do not know why in the [jbu1] web page this meteor event is presented, among UFO sightings. Worse even, this is actually not on Jauary 18, but February 18, 2005.

At the time, there was an Agence France Presse article reproduced on the popular astronomy website "Webastro"; which said:

A fireball crossed the Vosges sky last February. Since then, expeditions have followed one another to find the place where the object from heaven could have crashed.

Since February 18, when a large luminous ball has been seen in the Vosges sky by hundreds of people, the team of the planetarium of Epinal (Vosges) is in search of a meteorite fallen in the forest.

Some 700 testimonies were collected by telephone, mail or email after tonight when, at 10:25 p.m., motorists, passers-by and even firefighters in intervention witnessed the phenomenon. From Epinal to Baccarat via Gérardmer, Saint-Dié and Vittel, to Alsace and even to Dijon, some saw that evening "a strong bluish luminosity invade nature", others say they attended "an eclipse in reverse".

"Like daylight"

"We received very poetic testimonials from people who had the feeling of having experienced something grandiose," says Didier Mathieu, scientific coordinator of the Belle Etoile planetarium at Epinal; which coordinates the research. "They suddenly saw" nature as in broad daylight; some said they were drowning into a river of diamonds. One person even sent us a sample of sky blue tulle tissue to describe what she saw," he adds. Since then, not a week goes by without the planetarium being contacted by people who wanted them to identify a suspicious pebble. Because now, the team of astronomy enthusiasts of the only planetarium of Lorraine is desperately looking for the meteorite whose trajectory and the place of fall are difficult to appreciate.

The Strasbourg seismographs reacted to the sound waves of the object that emitted a "bang" like a plane crossing the sound barrier, but did not record any impact on the ground. By default, it was deduced that the pebble was no bigger than a handball. It would have fallen into a triangle situated between Vittel, Neufchateau and Bourdons-sur-Rognon, on the borders of the Haute-Marne and the Vosges, admitted with difficulty the person in charge of the planetarium who would prefer to discourage the curious.

"Big cometary cloud"

He has already conducted three expeditions with a dozen amateur astronomers to evaluate "suspicious craters" which turned out, there, a collapse of gallery, elsewhere, a badger's burrow. Additional disappointment, the vast area of ??research is "90% of forest almost impenetrable since the storm of 1999". "Still, we're looking for it. If we can relate this stone to a planet formation residue of 4.5 billion years old to all those who could see it, we will have done our job!", says Didier Mathieu. Even though every day there are meteorites falling on the earth, the latest in the Vosges dates back to 1822, in La Baffe.

Since February, local newspapers have reported at least three times testimonies of visions of green or bright balls in the region. "The earth has passed through a big cometary cloud and we see fireballs, big shooting stars", confirms the person in charge of the planetarium of Epinal. And to note: "You know, in the last century, there was less light pollution and no television, one saw a lot more meteorites".

Virginie MONTET (AFP)

Evaluation:

The meteor of February 18, 2005 at about 10:30 p.m.

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
Editeur: Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version: Create/changed by: Date: Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross July 11 2018 Creation, [dna1], [spa2], [gei1], [jbu1].
1.0 Patrick Gross July 11 2018 First published.
1.1 Patrick Gross June 15, 2021 Addition [spa1].

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