Sighting in Tavel, December 29, 2012

At 1:05 p.m., two people sitting in a car noticed eight to ten white luminous phenomena through the windscreen, in a clear sky. No sound was heard at any point during the observation. Only one of them gave a statement to the GEIPAN, sending in a set of photographs taken with their mobile phone.

The pictures show several shapes of varying brightness, but the witness did not say which of them they had actually seen with the naked eye. The photo that came with comments shows various reflections, caused either by the camera optics or by the windscreen. With the naked eye, the witness most likely saw the reflections on the windscreen, and probably only later found even more surprising effects on the photos.

The car was facing south, at the time of day when the sun is highest, close to the winter solstice. These conditions are ideal for producing multiple reflections of the sun on the windows or in the phone's optics. The GEIPAN therefore classified the case as B: the observation was probably sunlight reflections seen through the windscreen.