Documents / Official release
This information paper from the Department of Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is dated December 2024 and was released in full in February 2025. It explains how sunlight reflecting off Starlink and other low Earth orbit satellites produces bright flares and satellite trains that observers can mistake for UAP. It gives step-by-step methods for predicting flare windows from the ground and from aircraft. It concludes that lights reported by an airline pilot near Gallup, New Mexico, in October 2022 were very likely satellite flares.
All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 9 Error! Reference source not found.These numbers will vary for satellites with different orbital altitudes, but these guidelines are suitable for the current family of Starlink satellites. Step-by-step Process to Estimate Location of Flare Window We now have enough information needed to estimate the look angles to observe Starlink flares, specifically the sun’s elevation angle and satellite elevation angle. One can use the following process to predict the flare window’s azimuth and elevation. Table 1 provides a template for recording your observation. Note the following information: 1. Choose the observation location (latitude and longitude). 2. Select the year. 3. Select the date. 4. Predict the Sun's azimuth at the chosen time, date, and location by entering the information from steps 1-3 into an online calculator of your choice. Two example calculators are https://www.suncalc.org/ or https://www.timeanddate.com/sun. 5. Use the slider bar at the top of the page for suncalc.org or the expandable tables on timeanddate.com to find the time and azimuth after sunset when the Sun's altitude is -38°. 6. Record the Sun's azimuth and the local time of day. 7. After recording information from step 6, use the slider bar at the top of the page for suncalc.org or the expandable tables on timeanddate.com to find the time and azimuth after sunset when the Sun's altitude is -46°. 8. Record the Sun's azimuth and the local time. Table 1: Example template for recording estimated azimuth and times for Starlink flare windows. Observation Site Latitude NOTES:Longitude After sunset Before sunrise Date Time (L) Sun Altitude Azimuth Look Angle Date Time (L) Sun Altitude Azimuth Look Angle -38° 10° -46° 0° -46° 0° -38° 10° Measured Values of Satellite Flare Measured Values of Satellite Flare Date Time (L) Flare Azimuth Flare Elevation Date Time (L) Flare Azimuth Flare Elevation 9. Repeat steps 4 through 8 for the following day. Find the times and azimuths for the Sun before sunrise at -38° and -46°. 10. Using the information in the table, perform the observations and record the measured values in the table. The scenario below illustrates this process by working through an example. Scenario027Page determined to be Unclassified Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841(a)(1)(C) Date: 2/14/2025
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Official release, from the nara collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 18 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.