Sighting in Serviers-et-Labaume, December 30, 2015

At 7:50 one morning, a driver in a roundabout noticed a large red point of light. It was sinking very slowly through a perfectly clear sky along a very gentle curved path. The sighting lasted about 30 seconds. The witness pulled over, but the phenomenon had vanished before they could get their phone out to take a picture. No other witness account was collected.

The witness had been driving north-west, shortly before sunrise, which was due in the south-east. A red point seen in the direction opposite the sun, which was still slightly below the horizon, may be sunlight reflecting off an object flying at high altitude, such as an aircraft. A Flightradar check showed a plane almost 100 km away in that direction, in slow descent. A light north wind that day gave very good atmospheric visibility, making the sighting possible (see the Nîmes weather record on Météociel).

GEIPAN classified the case as B: probable observation of the sun's reflection on a high-altitude aircraft. Because the witness was moving, the direction of observation is not precise enough to be certain it was that particular plane. The explanation remains a hypothesis, consistent with the witness's report.