Sighting in Veyrier, March 26, 2025

One evening, between 8:15 and 8:20 p.m. local time, a witness was walking home when they looked up and noticed a very bright white light in the sky. It was a uniform white, with no perceptible change of colour, and it was clearly brighter than the stars visible at the time. The light crossed the sky quickly in a straight line, with no apparent change of path or speed. The witness watched it with the naked eye, outdoors and with nothing blocking the view, for less than ten seconds. It first appeared to the northwest at an estimated elevation of 60°, and disappeared to the southeast, above Mont Salève. A few days later, the witness sent a Technical Questionnaire to GEIPAN.

The nearest weather station, less than 5 km away, recorded about 11 °C, a light wind and no precipitation, and satellite images showed a generally clear sky. An airliner was flying in a similar direction, but it was about 15 km away, behind the Salève, at 37,000 feet, which put it at an elevation of roughly 37°, not the 60° the witness reported. The COSE, however, established that the ISS was passing at the same time, from northwest to southeast, with azimuths and elevations consistent with the description, reaching a maximum of 86°.

The case was judged to have medium consistency: the questionnaire was precise, but there was only one witness and no images. Brightness, movement, direction and timing all matched the ISS, and GEIPAN classified the case as A.