AGEN (47) 16.07.2013

On 16 July 2013 at 22:45, a witness lying on his terrace in Agen (47) was looking at the stars when 3 whitish disk-like spots in a triangle crossed the hazy sky rapidly and silently. He saw a faint halo. The objects disappeared at the horizon after 30 seconds. Only 1 account was collected. The source states that Agen's sky was overcast, despite the witness's stated stargazing. Fairly heavy air traffic at 7, 000–12, 000 m could not explain the sighting. GEIPAN considered several hypotheses. A nightclub laser was possible, although the duration seemed short and the witness, who had considered it, rejected it. Gulls illuminated by city lights but within low clouds were another possibility. GEIPAN found it surprising that birds would remain illuminated while gaining altitude, and the circular shape and apparent size, 2/3 of the Moon's, fitted poorly. The witness rejected this idea too, although the motion was reasonably compatible with birds. He also reported that gulls seemed to react to the phenomenon. A visual disturbance or an ocular migraine producing phosphenes was also considered. The blurred outlines and impression of flat lights were compatible, but GEIPAN considered retrospective verification by medical examination difficult. None of these hypotheses could be confirmed. Given the fairly distant, indistinct phenomenon, GEIPAN classifies the case as C for lack of information or corroboration.