Sighting in Brion, July 9, 2016
Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
Sighting on July 9, 2016 in Brion (Saône-et-Loire, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was one or more satellites (class A).
What happened
The witness was out for a night walk in a small village at around 11:15 p.m. when a white flash suddenly caught their attention near the constellation of the Big Dipper's region, Ursa Major. Highly observant, they immediately noted where it had appeared. The flash lasted only a second and was located between the stars Merak and Dubhe. The witness first thought of an exploding star (a nova or supernova), then ruled out an Iridium flash, because the suddenness and brightness of the burst puzzled them greatly. No other witness account was collected.
The investigation favoured the hypothesis of sunlight reflecting off an object orbiting the Earth. Checks with the JSatTrack software showed that, that evening, the ENVISAT satellite was in the sky very close to the spot where the witness had seen the flash. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as A: the witness had mistaken the ENVISAT satellite for something unusual.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- July 9, 2016
- Location
- Brion · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Satellites
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2016-07-09512
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.