CHOLET (49) 13.06.2014

On 13 June 2014 at 00:56, a witness observing stars with a new telescope noticed 2 bright white points moving together at constant separation. He eventually lost them among the many stars and reported surprise at their unusual movements. Only 1 account was collected, accompanied by sketches and a photograph. GEIPAN finds low strangeness and a good evidential basis because of the photograph and numerous astronomical reference points, despite there being only 1 witness. The investigation identifies the US military satellite pair NOSS-3 6. Brightness, angular separation, path and timing all match such a pair; see the investigation notes. The photograph probably shows only the region where the lights disappeared, rather than the satellites themselves. GEIPAN considers that the witness identified the double star 16 Cygni, visible as 2 nearby points, as the phenomenon. Apparent stops can be explained by interrupted observation, with temporary loss in moonlight and confusion among many stars. The case is classified A: misidentification of the US military satellites NOSS-3 6 (A) and (B).