A beam of light in Aude, France

On April 28, 2013 at midnight, a female driver observed the repetitive and winding movements of a whitish glow in the sky at low altitude. Her passenger also observed the phenomenon. Only one questionnaire was collected. The observation took place in three stages: 1-a) Around 0:00, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, a luminous phenomenon was spotted by the passenger aboard a vehicle traveling on the highway. 1-b) This led the driver to stop the vehicle at the next rest area, 500 to 800 meters after the first observation. The observation while stopped lasted for 1 hour, with both witnesses remaining in the vehicle. The phenomenon was seen above the trees, with an elevation estimated by the witness at 30°. 1-c) Since the phenomenon did not disappear, the witness resumed driving. The weather conditions recorded at Béziers (about fifty kilometers to the northeast) on April 27, 2013 at 11:00 PM on Météociel, as well as in the early hours of April 28, also on Météociel, report a cloud cover of 8/8, no precipitation (the last very light rainfall was the day before at 2:00 PM), visibility of 60 km, west wind around ten km/h, with a few gusts. This weather is identical to that of Carcassonne, 60 km to the west, diametrically opposite. The phenomenon is single, luminous (pale whitish glow), with no geometric shape, moving in the sky (at treetop level), always following the same trajectory with winding movements ("like a bird flying"), without noise or trail, of a size difficult to estimate, the witness having trouble judging the distance. During the stop (in 1-b), the witness mentions that the trajectory was small, passing alternately behind two trees about twenty meters apart. During the first observation on the highway (in 1-a), the witness stated, "we had the impression it was right next to us." Likewise, upon departure (in 1-c), the passenger stated, "it's following us." This last comment indicates, on the contrary, a significant distance from the phenomenon, since the heading remains the same while the witness is moving at high speed. The date is particular: indeed, this is the night from Saturday to Sunday (April 27 to 28, 2013), on the eve of the Labor Day bridge (May 1), during the Easter school holidays of the Montpellier academic zone, from April 20 to May 5, 2013. The environment is also particular: the highway, a few kilometers west of Narbonne, crosses rolling, non-urbanized limestone hills, presenting a Mediterranean landscape (scrubland and pine forest), dotted with vineyard plots (see the map). There are also wine appellation "châteaux" with wineries, some of which feature guest rooms in the middle of nature, with swimming pools and tennis courts. The witness suggests the projection of a light beam onto the base of the clouds. But questions the luminous rendering of such a phenomenon (regularity of the trajectory, characteristics of the glow), as well as its origin, stating "there is only pine forest in that place." All these elements lead us to favor the hypothesis, as considered by the witness, of the projection of a light beam onto the base of the clouds. Examination of the photos sent by the witness allows the location of the shots to be determined from the Narbonne-Jonquières rest area (in 1-b), based on the witness's statement, refined by the view of the pines standing out against the sky background. This allows an azimuth angle of the shots to be estimated (document: Azimut_serre.jpg). By extending this sighting sector (document: Azimut_moyen.jpg), it is possible to determine the origin zone of these luminous animations. Within it is at least the "Château de Jonquières," 700 m from the witness. The other hypotheses considered (events at the Abbey of Fontfroide, lighting of the Château de Saint-Martin) are ruled out, being outside this sighting sector. To confirm this hypothesis by triangulation, we use the witness's statement concerning the first observation (in 1-a), the vehicle moving on the highway, 500 to 800 meters before stopping at the rest area. By reporting this distance on the highway upstream of the rest area, we note that before this point, the highway is on an incline, widened to 3 lanes, in a cutting through the hills with embankments on either side masking the horizon. Going back to 800 meters, the highway is on the plateau, with the horizon clear ahead of the witness, with visibility of the Château de Jonquières, located 1.35 kilometers away. This phenomenon at 45° to the right of the vehicle could not go unnoticed! Verification element: from the rest area in 1-b, the phenomenon is seen at an elevation estimated at 30° by the witness. At a distance of 700 meters according to our hypothesis, the height of the phenomenon is: 700 * tan (30°) ~ 400 meters, which corresponds to an altitude of the cloud cover. All these elements reinforce our hypothesis of a luminous animation (most likely from the Château de Jonquières or its outbuildings. Unfortunately, to date, the owner cannot be reached by phone to confirm this). The distance from 1.3 km (in 1-a) to 700 m (in 1-b) explains several aspects noted by the witness: - the low luminosity, - the non-geometric shape, as well as the irregular trajectory, a projection seen in profile onto the rolling base of moving clouds, - the perceived impression of proximity and of being followed, due to the small change in the azimuth of the UAP relative to the witness; this small change despite the vehicle's movement results from the significant distance of the UAP from the witness. Consequently, GEIPAN classifies the case as A: luminous animation.