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 Masevaux, on April 19, 2020:

Case number:

ALSACAT-2020-04-19-MASEVAUX-1

Summary:

A testimony by "Docmoonrider" appeared between 2021 and 2023 on the "OVNI-France" website, about his observation in Masevaux in the Haut-Rhin, on April 19, 2020, at 9:10 p.m., for about 30 seconds, while he was with another person.

He said he saw an intense, orange light, twice the size of Venus, uncommon, of variable intensity, having traveled a straight north-south trajectory, at a high speed estimated at twice that of a satellite, with an impression of an upward trajectory until it disappeared.

The witness was certain that it was not a natural phenomenon but a machine.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	April 19, 2020
Time:	09:10 p.m.
Duration:	30 seconds.
First known report date:	2023
Reporting delay:	1 à 2 ans.

Geographical data:

Department:	Haut-Rhin
City:	Masevaux
Place:	?
Latitude:	47.774
Longitude:	6.996
Uncertainty radius:	2 km.

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	2
Number of known witnesses:	1
Number of named witnesses:	0
Witness(es) ages:	?
Witness(es) types:	?

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	By the Web to the OVNI-France website.
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):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	Puzzled.
Witnesses interpretation:	Craft.

Classifications:

Hynek:	NL
ALSACAT:	Probable Chinese lantern.

Sources:

[Ref. ofe1:] "OVNI-FRANCE" WEBISTE:

04/19/2020 - (Dép.68) - Intense orange luminous object

Date: 04/19/2020
Department: 68 (Haut-Rhin)
Localization: Masevaux
Hour: 09:10 p.m.
Numbers of witnesses: 2 pople
Type of observation: NL: Nocturnal Lights
Approximate duration of the observation: 30 seconds
What was seen: Intense orange luminous object

Description of the facts:

Volume =2x Venus, uncommon very orange light, intense and of variable intensity, straight north-south trajectory, high speed (2x that of a satellite), impression of ascending trajectory until disappearance, certainty of an unnatural phenomenon but of observation of a machine

Docmoonrider

Discussion:

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.

The report is quite poor, but given the information it provides, a Chinese lantern is a plausible explanation.

Evaluation:

Probable Chinese lantern.

Sources references:

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

[ofe1] * Witness report published on the OVNI-France website, France, not dated, found in January 2023, at http://www.ovni-france.fr/index.php?ou=temoignages_vu&id_tem=3548&id=16

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 11. 2023	Creation, [ofe1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	January 11. 2023	First published.

This page was last updated on January 11. 2023.