Moving in formation in Aisne, France

GEIPAN continues to publish all of its archives. Among its publications are old cases that were classified at the time as type "C" cases and that are now being re-examined, for the sole purpose of being more relevant in the conclusions. Thanks to new technical means (software) and the investigative experience acquired over all these recent years, this re-examination sometimes leads to new remarks or even a change of classification explained in an investigation note. This observation case is one of the re-examined "C" cases (see the document Investigation Notes). On October 24, 1977, between 5:15 PM and 6:00 PM (the times vary according to the witnesses), three residents of GUISE (02) observe on the horizon the presence of a red-colored ball or fire from which sparks scatter. The observation lasts from five to ten minutes, at the end of which the UAP gradually disappears at the horizon. The witnesses file reports at the gendarmerie on October 25 and 27. On patrol for several days in a row, the gendarmes notice no abnormal fact and collect no other testimony. The case was the subject of a press article published in the newspaper L'Union on October 26, 1977 (see the document Investigation Notes). This case is consistent (three witnesses), the description of the observed UAP is fairly precise. The sincerity and credibility of the witnesses have never been called into question. The described phenomenon presents many common characteristics (observation duration, shape, size, color) with a perfectly known astronomical object: the setting Sun. Indeed, the Sun was effectively setting in the axis that the witnesses indicate. It is not the visual perception of the witnesses that is in question, but the interpretation that the witnesses make of their observation through their feeling (astonishment). In GEIPAN's current classification, this case of low strangeness is classified as UAP A, observation linked to a misidentification with the setting Sun.