An account in Haut-Rhin, France

GEIPAN continues to publish all of its archives on its public website www.geipan.fr. Among its publications are old cases classified at the time (A, B, C or D) which are now being re-examined, for the sole purpose of being more relevant in their conclusions. Thanks to new technical means (software) and the investigative experience gained over all these recent years, this re-examination sometimes leads to new remarks or even a change in classification. This observation case, previously classified D and named THANN (68) 1990, is part of a set of cases recently re-examined. On 19 September 1990 at around 9:45 pm, a couple and two children observed the movements in the overcast sky of an ovoid shape of milky white color. This shape made displacements and gyratory movements above the MOOSCH forest before disappearing. A neighborhood inquiry found 4 other witnesses who had seen similar phenomena on 19, 20 and 21 September. At the time of the observation, GEIPAN had no (or little) experience with these observations. The cases accumulated since then (search for cases on www.geipan.fr with the keyword skyrose, skytracer, or laser) make it possible to affirm that the present observation is perfectly consistent with the hypothesis of a luminous spot on the cloud ceiling created by the use of a ground-based projector (see the investigation report): - "ovoid" shape, according to the perspective created by the observation angle; - back-and-forth and rotational movements; - presence of cloud cover; - white color; - luminosity and general appearance of the UAP described by the witnesses as "opaque", "milky" and "without brilliance"; diffuse light not illuminating the surroundings. Given this strong consistency, the hypothesis is to be retained despite the fact that the day of the observation was a Wednesday evening (and not a weekend more conducive to a festive event) and that no trace of any local or private event was found. Indeed, 30 years later, this absence of trace is not decisive; nothing makes it possible to rule out the existence of such an event or a weekday setup session (it only lasted 15 minutes) for an event held on a weekend which, for its part, would not have caused anything strange in the sky due to different weather conditions. The consistency is correct, with an investigation carried out on site by the Gendarmes. One may however regret the absence of angular measurements and of photographs or videos taken at the time of the facts by the witnesses. Consequently, GEIPAN classifies it as B: observation of light displays (laser, skytracer).