Sighting in Auenheim, March 12, 2012

At around 8 p.m., the witness went out onto their terrace and was looking at the sky, which was clear, when they noticed three burgundy-red objects shaped like crosses. The objects crossed the sky from west to north. The sighting lasted only a few seconds.

At 10:50 p.m., the witness stepped out onto the terrace again, this time with their partner. Together they saw five objects moving from north to east. Trees and houses in the housing estate soon hid them from view. Only one witness account was collected.

The investigation first considered Thai lanterns released at a celebration, since red objects flying in a group are reminiscent of them. The weather record from Strasbourg, 40 km away, showed a light, variable wind (northeast, north, northwest). The north-easterly movement described fits poorly with that wind, but it was light and variable, and no weather record from close by was available, so the hypothesis could not be formally ruled out. The day of the week, a Monday, is rarely a day for celebrations, and the cross shape the witness described also argues against this explanation. Air traffic data showed no aircraft that could match the sighting, and GEIPAN received no other report of a phenomenon that day in the region. For lack of precise weather data and corroborating information, GEIPAN classified the case as category C.