Sighting in Plélo, October 3, 2013
Côtes-d'Armor, Bretagne, France
Sighting on October 3, 2013 in Plélo (Côtes-d'Armor, France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably a train or group of satellites (class B).
What happened
The witness noticed two fixed points of light in the sky at around 7:40 pm, resembling stars. They moved silently, symmetrically and at the same speed, crossing the sky steadily in a straight line. This behaviour strongly suggested the passage of two satellites.
The investigation checked satellite passes using the Calsky.com website. At the same time, a trio of Chinese Earth-observation satellites, Yaogan 17, launched on 1 September 2013, followed a path matching the one described. These satellites normally reflect little sunlight (magnitude 5 to 6), but they can probably be oriented so as to become brighter. This could explain why the witness saw two rather than three. GEIPAN classified the case as B: a very probable sighting of Yaogan satellites.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- October 3, 2013
- Location
- Plélo · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
- Explanation
- Satellites
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2013-10-08576
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.