GEIPAN Case 2023-12-51504 — HEM (59) 16.12.2022

Brief

A lone witness walking his dog at approximately 21:00 in HEM (59510, Nord department) observed three reddish circular rings arranged in a forward-pointing triangle, moving on a straight, level, constant-speed trajectory from azimuth ~300° (WNW) toward the east-northeast. The object subtended roughly 40-50 cm at arm's length, displayed a barely discernible dark structure between the rings, and disappeared abruptly — described as if the rings had switched off — after about ten seconds. No sound, trail, or environmental effects were detected. GEIPAN's investigation produced no conventional explanation, earning the case its D1 (unidentified) classification.

Metadata

Agency

GEIPAN / CNES

Release

2007-03-22

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

15 pages

Classification

D1 (non identifie)

Programs

GEIPAN, GEPAN, SEPRA

Tags

three reddish rings, triangular formation, silent, abrupt disappearance, dark sub-structure, nighttime, HEM France 59510, 2022, D1 unidentified, constant-speed rectilinear

Key points

• Three reddish rings arranged in a triangle (one forward, two trailing) appeared suddenly at approximately 21:00 on December 16, 2022, over the residential subdivision of HEM (59510), northern France.p.2
• Duration was approximately ten seconds; the phenomenon ended abruptly — the witness described it as though 'the rings had switched off' — before the object reached rooftop level.p.2
• Trajectory was strictly rectilinear, horizontal, and at constant speed, from azimuth ~300° (WNW) to east-northeast, passing nearly overhead at approximately 75° elevation.p.8
• No sound was detected from the phenomenon; no trail, halo, or environmental effects were present.p.7
• Total apparent angular size was 40-50 cm on an arm's-length ruler; each individual ring was likened to a petanque ball held at arm's length.p.6
• Color was described as reddish — specifically compared to the glow of a welding bead — with low but clearly distinct luminosity against the dark sky.p.6
• Conditions: clear sky, no wind, -3°C, moonless night with only a few stars visible; naked-eye observation from a moderately lit residential street.p.5
• Single witness with no known corroborating observers; written notes and a sketch were made immediately upon returning home to preserve detail.p.12
• The witness was referred to GEIPAN approximately eight months after the event by UAP researcher Luc Dini, following months of unsuccessful internet research.p.3

Verbatim

• Ces anneaux, bien nets, étaient disposés en triangle pointe en avant.

  p.2

• avant de les atteindre, il soudainement disparu comme si les anneaux s'étaient éteints

  p.2

• Rougeâtre , cela avait la couleur d'un cordon de soudure avec le milieu de l'anneau.

  p.6

• Entre les anneaux on devinait à peine qu'il y avait une structure sans pouvoir la décrire.

  p.2

• j'étais tellement subjugué que je n'ai pas eu le reflexe de filmer avec mon téléphone et ça, je pense que je vais le regretter longtemps

  p.3

• Je suis rentré et j'ai dessiné les trois anneaux et noté l'horaire des faits pour être sûr que le lendemain je ne m'imagine pas que c'était juste un drôle de rêve.

  p.12

• Rectiligne, horizontale et à vitesse constante.

  p.8

• Aucun bruit détecté.

  p.7

Most interesting

• The witness is a self-described skeptic who finds extraterrestrial visitation physically implausible given interstellar distances — making the report notably restrained in interpretation.
• A neighbor, a former police officer from Roubaix, mentioned unprompted that a three-officer patrol had reported a UAP observation near Leers (a few kilometers from HEM) in the 1970s, suggesting a locally recurring pattern across decades.
• The phenomenon traversed between 60° and 80° of sky arc in approximately ten seconds while appearing to move slowly relative to its apparent size — a combination that implies either very low altitude or unusually large actual dimensions.
• Despite -3°C temperatures and a moonless sky, the three rings were described as sharp and well-defined throughout, not blurred or uncertain at any point during the ten-second window.
• GEIPAN's V3 questionnaire (June 14, 2019 edition) invokes EU GDPR Article 13 and mandates retention of witness data for 99 years, with anonymized eventual publication at geipan.fr.
• The witness returned to the sighting location after the event to photograph the scene and produced a composite image attempting to reconstruct what he observed, which was submitted as an attachment to the questionnaire.