Sighting in Langon, August 2, 2011
Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Sighting on August 2, 2011 in Langon (Gironde, France). GEIPAN could not reach a conclusion for lack of sufficient information (class C).
What happened
At around 8:15 pm, a driver and their son noticed a bright white glow hanging motionless in the sky above the rooftops of the town centre. They carried on with their journey and lost sight of it. The investigation had only the driver's account to go on.
The glow was in the part of the sky opposite the Sun, shortly before sunset. Given this geometry, several sources matching the description were considered: sunlight reflecting off the fuselage of a distant aircraft, off a weather balloon released from Bordeaux Mérignac, or off a metallised child's balloon released from Langon, or else a temporary reflection on a satellite. None of these could be confirmed with certainty.
GEIPAN rated the case as only slightly strange, with medium consistency. It was most likely sunlight reflecting off an ordinary flying object, but the case could not be settled on the information available. It was classified C because there were no independent witnesses and no cross-checks.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- August 2, 2011
- Location
- Langon · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- C
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2011-08-02794
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.