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Sighting in Haute-Garonne, September 17, 1976

Occitanie, France

Sighting on September 17, 1976, exact location not given (département: Haute-Garonne, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty (class A).

What happened

Between 8:15 and 8:30 p.m., several people watched a spherical, luminous phenomenon move silently across the sky. Some of the witnesses noticed that its color changed.

The gendarmerie investigation quickly established that it was a stratospheric balloon belonging to the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), released from Aire-sur-l'Adour (40) to take measurements at high altitude. The color changes were caused by the diffraction of the light from the setting sun, while movements in the atmosphere distorted the outline of the object optically. GEIPAN classified the case as A: identified.

Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.

Date
September 17, 1976
Location
Haute-Garonne · region only
Type of sighting
From the ground
Source classification
A

Sources

Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.