Sighting in Saint-Paul, October 3, 2025

At around 6:56 pm, the witness was out walking on a beach. The sky was clear over the sea, with a few clouds inland, and the place was quiet: no traffic and no aircraft engine noise. The witness then noticed a single round, white light in the sky, with a particularly intense and steady brightness and a halo around it. No sound was heard during the entire observation.

The object moved slowly from the sea toward the land and appeared to pass over the houses. Its brightness stayed the same throughout its path. After about four minutes it disappeared behind a cloud formation; its light remained visible for a few moments before going out completely. The witness took several photos and filmed the scene with a smartphone.

GEIPAN rated the case's consistency as good: there was only one witness, but the account was well supported by the photos and the video. The investigation looked at a single hypothesis, the Starlink-3084 satellite, and it was confirmed. The satellite was indeed in the sky over La Réunion between 6:55 and 7:00 pm, lit by the setting Sun. It was in its atmospheric re-entry phase, in an orbit of roughly 170 to 220 km compared with 550 km for the operational orbit, which explains its brilliance. Analysis of one photo confirmed its position, with a gap of about two minutes from the modelled trajectory, a difference considered normal for an object re-entering. The direction of travel matched as well. The case was classified A.