SOUSTONS (40) 01.12.2019

On December 01, 2019 at 06:45, a witness walking his dog was intrigued by 3 glittering lights that he saw at low altitude towards the west. After 3 or 4 seconds of observation, the witness noticed that the phenomenon was slowly moving in his direction. He then saw the contours of a dark triangle with a light at each end. The witness ran to his house to look for something to film or take a picture. On his return, everything had disappeared. The total duration of the observation was 8 seconds. No other testimony was gathered. We have shown over the course of the analysis (see the investigation report) that of the two hypotheses explored, namely confusion with an aircraft in the approach phase or confusion with a triplet of Yaogan-type satellites in the "flare" phase, only the latter seems to us to be able to explain the appearance and behaviour of the UAPs and to explain the features the witness found unusual. This conclusion is based on the following: - individual point form of each light, - white colour, - high brightness observable in a rare and fleeting way for this type of satellite by a phenomenon of luminous reflection of the sun on highly reflective components (antennas, solar panels...). This phenomenon has already been observed and filmed. - short observational duration, compatible with the known duration of this type of flare, about 8 to 10 seconds. The witness did not observe the decrease in brightness, having gone to search for something to photograph or film the phenomenon, probably just before this decrease, making the satellites invisible ultimately to the naked eye. The witness could no longer see it on returning outside. - slow movement along a straight path, from west to east, - measurements and calculations of generally compatible distances, dimensions and elevations. The witness did not observe stars between the light points forming the triplet, because the triplet may have crossed sparsely starred areas and/or areas with few stars of a magnitude visible to the naked eye (the source’s magnitude wording is ambiguous), especially during such a short observation period and such a small angular displacement. A perceptual illusion of shape is also present, occurring as a result of a short observation of points of light moving together at night, covering a small angular extent, and passing through an area with few visible stars, giving the witness the impression that the three independent lights are connected and delimit a solid, triangular black object. Unfortunately, it was impossible to verify the actual presence at the time of observation of a Yaogan satellite triplet with our satellite positioning software. The software could not be taken back to the precise observation date. This prevents GEIPAN from firmly confirming the hypothesis, hence a B classification as probable. GEIPAN ranks the case as "B": likely observation of a rare flare from a triplet of Yaogan satellites.