SAINT-JEAN-DE-MARUEJOLS-ET-AVEJAN (30) 05.06.2013

On 5 June 2013 at 00:34, a witness saw a very bright yellow-orange light crossing a clear sky and filmed it with his phone. GEIPAN identifies the light, moving west to northeast over a few minutes, as the International Space Station (ISS). The Calsky prediction, reproduced in a referenced document, matches the timing and direction: the ISS appeared southwest at 00:32, reached its maximum elevation of 32° north-northwest at 00:37, and gradually disappeared north-northeast at 00:42. GEIPAN explains the reported changes in direction by the curved apparent path of the station. Without reference points in the dark sky, the witness perceived and readjusted its course as successive straight segments. Its brightness gradually diminishes from culmination toward the horizon, a change most observers interpret as movement away. The phone was not held steady during filming, making the video unusable for analysis. The witness was looking in the right direction to see the ISS, bright enough to attract any observer's attention. GEIPAN reasons that if a separate phenomenon had been present, he would have reported both simultaneously in the clear sky. The case is classified A: observation of the ISS.