Sighting in Châteauneuf-de-Galaure, September 2, 2016

Very early in the morning, at 5:20 a.m., a witness noticed a very bright, intensely white ball hanging motionless in the sky, very low and in the direction of Saint-Martin-d'Août. The sighting lasted five to six minutes. The witness then went to fetch another person, and the phenomenon appeared to switch itself off in the meantime. Only one account was collected.

The investigation concluded that the witness had been surprised by Sirius, which happens often. It is a very bright white star, usually seen close to the horizon, where the atmosphere can produce an optical effect or a halo that makes it look like a glowing ball. Saint-Martin-d'Août lies to the south-east, as Sirius did, and the witness was looking slightly above horizontal, while the star stood about 5° above the horizon. While the witness was away, Sirius could have moved behind a cloud, even though the witness described a dark night, or behind features of the landscape on the horizon, since it shifts by about 3° in ten minutes. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as A: an observation of Sirius.