Sighting in Montpezat, August 12, 2016

Around 10:30 pm, a witness who was looking at the stars noticed a very bright white light that seemed to zigzag slightly as it moved. They called their partner over, who saw the same thing. The light crossed the sky from west to east and then vanished. The witness likened the way it faded to a candle wick going out over two or three seconds.

The GEIPAN investigation concluded that what they had seen was the International Space Station (ISS). The path they described in the sky matches the ISS trajectory well. The only difference is that the light disappeared lower above the horizon than predicted, unless a cloud ended the sighting. The way the ISS fades from view, when the sun stops lighting it, can look odd, whether because it happens quickly or, as here, slowly. The apparent wobbling around its path is a well-known effect of autokinetic perception, whereas a satellite actually follows a steady trajectory. The case was therefore classified A: identified, a pass of the ISS.