EYBENS (38) 14.02.2022

On the evening of 14 February 2022, 3 witnesses behind the balcony window of their third-floor apartment in Eybens observed a UAP above the Belledonne mountain ridges to the east. It was a bright circular arc with an apparent diameter, brightness and color similar to the Moon. Initially certain they were watching the Moon, they were surprised when, after about 2 minutes, it gradually shrank while remaining stationary above the ridges. During this shrinkage, binoculars briefly revealed 2 closely spaced bright points. Finding the Moon elsewhere, higher in the sky, confirmed that the UAP was something different. A witness reported it through a technical questionnaire and a gendarmerie statement. The case is well substantiated: several witnesses, a remote investigation followed by an on-site inquiry, and a cognitive interview with 1 witness. In GEIPAN terminology, substantiation is the amount of reliable, objectively established information collected for an account. Several hypotheses were studied, and 1 clearly emerged: a halo on clouds produced by the powerful floodlights of 1 or more snow groomers operating around Alpe d'Huez, possibly near Pic Blanc, about 30 km away (see investigation report). Supporting evidence is: - A shape compatible with such a halo, whose lower circular portion was hidden by foreground mountain ridges, producing the arc. - Color matching snow-groomer floodlights. - Webcams confirming several groomers in the area throughout the observation interval. - An azimuth matching the viewing direction. - Météo-France data and webcams confirming a cloud layer above 3,300–3,500 m, with broken or absent cloud below 2,700 m. - The lights' power, evident in numerous available photographs and videos. - Groomer maneuvers—turning, ascending, descending, moving forward and reversing—compatible with the perceived “rising/setting.” - No sound, consistent with the roughly 30 km distance. The case is classified A: reflection of floodlights from 1 or more snow groomers on the cloud layer.