Sighting in Soustons, December 1, 2019

Early in the morning, at around 6:45 a.m., a witness walking their dog noticed three twinkling lights low in the sky to the west. After three or four seconds, they saw that the phenomenon was moving slowly toward them. They then made out the outline of a dark triangle with a light at each corner. The witness ran home to fetch something to film or photograph with. When they came back, everything had vanished. The observation lasted eight seconds in total, and no other testimony was collected.

The GEIPAN looked at two hypotheses: a confusion with an aircraft on approach, or with a triplet of Yaogan-type satellites undergoing a "flare". Only the second accounts for the appearance and behavior reported: white, point-like lights, very bright because sunlight reflected off highly reflective parts of the satellites, a duration of 8 to 10 seconds typical of such a flare, and a slow, straight path from west to east. The calculated distances, sizes and elevations are broadly consistent. The witness most likely left to get equipment just before the brightness faded, which would explain the apparent disappearance. The dark triangle is put down to a shape illusion: brief points of light moving together across an area with no visible stars seem to be linked. Satellite positioning software could not confirm the presence of the satellites, as the exact date could not be established. The case is therefore classified B: probable observation of a rare flare from a triplet of Yaogan satellites.