Sighting in Novalaise, August 17, 2024

On a summer evening, around 11:10 pm, the witness and their partner had just gone to bed. The room was dark, with only the television on. Through the window, they noticed a luminous phenomenon in the sky, which was overcast with light rain. The witness described it as silent: a bright disc that split into several rectangles, which swept across the sky in a regular, repetitive way and at high speed. It was white and brighter than the Moon.

After two to three minutes, having moved toward the west, the phenomenon disappeared. The witness estimated its elevation at 45-50° and the distance it covered at 40-50° of sky. Only one of the two witnesses completed a GEIPAN questionnaire, but a video was provided and analysed, so the case was considered to have good consistency.

The investigation concluded that a sky-tracer, a searchlight or laser aimed at the sky, was the probable explanation. Several points supported this: the round overall shape, the white colour, the lack of noise, the regular and repetitive movements, the variations in sweep speed, and a Saturday evening in summer, a time when such devices are often used at festive events. In the video, the individual shapes look rather round, and perspective may have made them seem rectangular. The witness had considered a sky-tracer but dismissed it because no beam was visible. However, the phenomenon was probably lower than estimated, close to landscape features such as trees that could have hidden the beam. The unknown distance and power of the source may also have played a part. The person operating the device was not identified; it could have been a private individual or a distant shopping centre. GEIPAN classified the case as B.