ALSACAT-2011-06-26-MITTELBERGHEIM-1
About March 2014, I found a sighting report filed by "Raphael M" on a UFO website. He told he saw with two other people "luminous elements floating in the sky" in the night of June 26, 2011, at 10:25 p.m., for two minutes, in Mittelbergheim in the Bas-Rhin.
He said they were "yellow, orange" and "hovered and were certainly between Itterswiller and Epfig", then they "came back" after 15 or 20 minutes.
He added that at 11:20 p.m. at the level of Eichhoffen there was: "light moving speeds range various direction then disappeared as fast as appeared."
| Date: | June 26, 2011 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 10:25 p.m. |
| Duration: | 2 minutes. |
| First known report date: | March 1, 2014, or earlier. |
| Reporting delay: | Hour, months? |
| Department: | Bas-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Mittelbergheim |
| Place: | ? |
| Latitude: | 48.396 |
| Longitude: | 7.441 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 500 m |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | ? |
| Witness(es) types: | Male. |
| Reporting channel: | On the web to UFO website "OVNI-France.fr". |
|---|---|
| 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: | UFO |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Probable Chinese lanterns. |
[Ref. ofe1:] SIHTING REPORT ON THE "OVNI-FRANCE.FR" WEBSITE:
06/26/2011 - (Dep.67) - Luminous floating elements in the sky
Date: 06/26/2011
Department: 67 (Bas-Rhin)
Localization: Mittelbergheim
Hour: 10:25 p.m.
Numbers [sic] of witnesses: 3 people
Type of observation: NL: Nocturnal Lights
Aproximate [sic] duration of observation: 2 minutes
What was seen: Luminous floating elements in the sky
Description of the facts:
Several luminous objects in the sky.
Of yellow,orange color hovering probably between Itterswiller and Epfig, then came back after 15 , 20 minutes.
About 11:20 p.m. level of Eichhoffen, light moving speeds range various direction then disappeared as fast as appeared.
Raphael M
|
|
Above: positions of the villages mentioned in the report.
There is no precise localization, no elevation angle, no angular velocity, not angular size, we do not know if there was noise or not, we do not know how many these "elements" were, we do not know if they were close together or widely separated, we know nothing of a relationship of their move and the possible wind direction, etc.
The very short and rather fragmentary and sketchy report tells me only one thing: these were probably Chinese lanterns again.
That Sunday, June 26, 2011, in Eichhoffen, 1.3 km south of the village given as observation place, the Association of Firefighters held a flea market, a good opportunity to finish in the evening - but not too late because the next day is a working day - with a launch of lanterns.
The first "false UFOs" caused by Chinese lanterns that I identified were in the United States during the airship wave of 1896-1897, it also happened during the 1954 French "saucers" flap, including in Alsace (Example), it happened during the wave of 1973 in the United States (Example), etc. As there are years-long gaps in their use, some ufologists, too many ufologists, and of course the witnesses, forget them as a possible cause for UFO sightings.
|
Above: a Chinese lantern.
Probable Chinese lanterns.
* = 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 | April 9, 2014 | Creation, [ofe1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | April 9, 2014 | First published. |
