Office of the Secretary of Defense: 027_Satellite_Flaring_Paper

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)
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Unlike the ground-based observation case discussed above, an airborne observer does not have the
ability to “park themselves” at a given location and wait for the Starlink flaring window to come
into view. Consequently, the process described below is more likely useful to determine whether
a previous sighting phenomenon may have been the result of Starlink flares.
Below is the process for determining the elevation and azimuth look angles for an airborne
observer to determine whether their sighting may potentially have been due to Starlink flares. Table
3 is an example template that may be useful.
1. Choose the observation location (latitude and longitude, O1), altitude and aircraft bearing
for the airborne observer (or azimuth look angle as noted in Footnote 3).
2. Use Figure 15 and online resources or Google Earth to calculate the effective observation
location, O2, for the airborne observer. Note the effective latitude and longitude in Table 3.
3. Select the year of the observation.
4. Select the calendar day of the observation.
5. Select the local time of the observation.
6. Determine the Sun's azimuth for the given time, date, and year at the effective observation
position O2. If O1 and O2 are not in the same time zone, use the time zone for O1 when
converting from local time to UTC.
7. Go to the online Sun altitude and azimuth calculator of your choice, e.g.,
https://www.suncalc.org/ or https://www.timeanddate.com/sun, and enter the information
from steps (2) through (5).
8. Use the slider bar at the top of the page for suncalc.org or the expandable tables on
timeanddate.com to find the Sun’s azimuth for the given local time of the observation and
record this into the appropriate blocks in the table.
9. Use Figure 10 above to estimate the elevation look angle at which Starlink flares should
have been visible and record this information into the table.
10. Compare the Sun’s azimuth and elevation look angle for the estimated flare window to the
sighting’s azimuth and elevation to determine if Starlink flares may be a likely explanation
for the observed phenomena.
Case
AARO received a Federal Aviation Administration UAP report from an airline pilot describing
multiple unidentified lights moving in different directions. The report states that the pilot was
traveling eastbound near Gallup, NM (35.5224°N, 108.7235°W) on October 9, 2022, at
approximately 3:50AM local time. The aircraft was at an altitude of 35,000 feet and had a bearing
(heading) of approx. 70° from true North. The pilot noted that the UAP were “multiple lights
moving in different directions, left of the constellation Leo.” No further data was provided.
The following procedure will determine if the reported lights could be Starlink flares.027Page determined to be Unclassified
Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO
IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841(a)(1)(C)
Date: 2/14/2025