Sighting in Saint-Dizier, March 3, 2026

At 22:10 UTC, at the end of an overflight mission, the crews of two Mirage 2000D aircraft reported a luminous phenomenon. They described three sources of extreme brightness, comparable to powerful landing lights. The sources appeared about once a minute and stayed visible for 15 to 20 seconds. The whole episode lasted roughly 30 minutes, along a route running from the starting area near Clermont-Ferrand (63) to the arrival area near Nancy (54). Four people were involved, but only one testimony was collected.

The case was rated as moderately strange and of good consistency. The features the witness described match Starlink® satellite flares: numerous repeated appearances lasting 15 to 20 seconds, strong brightness similar to aircraft headlights, a constant direction of appearance throughout the observation, and a position close to the horizon. A sky reconstruction in Stellarium® shows that at the time of the sighting the Sun, set and 45° below the horizon, could briefly light satellites located 2 to 5° above the horizon. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as A: observation of Starlink® flares.