MONTFERMEIL (93) 19.08.2013

On 19 August 2013 at about 23:00, a witness in Montfermeil saw what looked like a star first entering the atmosphere, then stopping, suddenly illuminating the sky intensely and moving away in the opposite direction to its initial path. GEIPAN's investigation identifies this as a flare from Iridium 49. The supporting evidence is its exceptional brightness, a color consistent with a satellite, visibility from the witness's location, and timing matching Iridium 49's presence. The investigation report explains that the flare is produced by sunlight reflected from the satellite's particularly large antenna and can be bright enough to be visible even in daylight. The case is classified A: an Iridium satellite flare.