La Croix-Valmer Black Sun Artifact

On January 21, 2007, during an early afternoon walk in La Croix-Valmer (Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region), a witness took several photographs of the scenery. The witness reported seeing nothing unusual during the actual photography session. However, upon developing the photographs, the witness discovered mysterious black points appearing at the center of the sun in multiple images. Concerned by this anomaly, and prompted by a television program about UFO phenomena in 2008, the witness submitted the photographs and a questionnaire to GEIPAN for investigation. GEIPAN's analysis revealed this to be a classic example of a phenomenon where anomalies appear only in photographic or video evidence and are never observed directly by the witness in real-time. The investigative report specifically identified this as a 'black sun' (soleil noir) phenomenon, a well-documented camera artifact. This occurs when a camera or photo device is aimed at scenes containing highly concentrated light sources such as the solar disk. Particularly visible in photographs numbered 78 and 82 from the witness's submission, the phenomenon demonstrates how certain image sensors—especially CMOS technology sensors—render ultra-bright zones as BLACK rather than the expected white saturation. GEIPAN noted that they generally no longer process these types of post-observation photographic anomalies, as experience has shown that with sufficient investigation, explanations can be found in various camera artifacts. These have become increasingly frequent due to the widespread use of smartphones. However, this case was processed and published for educational purposes. The agency provided a reference to an IPACO (Image Pattern Analysis for Camera Optics) expert report that gives a precise technical description of the phenomenon. GEIPAN classified this case as 'A'—their highest certainty classification indicating a fully explained phenomenon with identified cause: photographic artifact.