Sighting in Remire-Montjoly, February 7, 2013
Guyane, France
Sighting on February 7, 2013 in Remire-Montjoly (Guyane, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was an atmospheric optical phenomenon (halo, sun dog…) (class A).
What happened
At around 6:40 p.m., during an Ariane launch in French Guiana, a witness and their children noticed three parallel lines standing out clearly low in the sky, near the horizon. They filmed them. A short while later, the lines faded away.
The GEIPAN investigation concluded that the sighting was identified (class A). The lines looked exactly like straight cast shadows, similar examples exist, and the position of the sun was consistent with this. The lines were shadows cast by the sun, at dusk, onto the dense parts of the Ariane rocket's condensation trail.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- February 7, 2013
- Location
- Remire-Montjoly · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Optical phenomena
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2013-02-08710
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.