On the evening of May 17, 2023, my wife and I stepped onto the terrace of our room at the Hotel de la Cité in Carcassonne and snapped a few night pictures. The views were spectacular, and the illuminated Chateau Comtale was in the backdrop.

A little while later, while reviewing the pictures we took, we noticed something odd. Consider these two images, which were taken only 1 second apart using an iPhone 11.

At first glance, there is no real difference. Taking two or three pictures of the same thing in rapid succession is one of our habits, in case one of them appears blurry or has a weird contrast. But, we noticed a tiny light hovering right above the castle in first picture, and it was not there in the second.

The next image showcases the light in question, and it has a zoom bubble showing it in more detail.

That’s interesting. What could it be?

First, we thought it might be an airplane or a helicopter. But the light was nowhere in sight 1 second later. Planes and choppers move in a steady and discernible trajectory, and they tend to have a steady white light and a blinking red one. It should have to be in the second image, but it wasn’t.

Could it have been some weird glow caused by the iPhone? Unlikely, since the second image was taken 1 second later, under the exact same conditions, and from the exact same vantage point and angle. Any issue with the iPhone would have probably manifested itself in the second image, too.

Was it an optical flare from a nearby light? Again, unlikely, especially since we would have noticed any rotating or spinning lights.

Perhaps it was a weather balloon? Nope. Like airplanes or choppers, it would have been in the second image, too, especially since balloons move much slower than propelled aircraft.

So, it’s not an airplane, helicopter, or balloon, and it’s not something caused by the iPhone or nearby lighting. What does that leave?

Aliens!

Of course!

Let’s look at a close-up of that strange light again.

It’s comprised of 6 lights arranged in a 2-by-3 grid. That does not look like lights on a plane or other man-made flying apparatus. And the fact that it was gone the next second is kind of weird, too.

But, if it was aliens, why were they over the Chateau Comtale in Carcassonne, or over Carcassonne in general? The economy of the city does not rely on aerospace or military industries. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne#Economy).

So, why where they there?

Why was I there?

I was there to see something special—a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To walk the narrow medieval streets of a city that has been around since Roman times; the initial fort was built around 100 BC.

The simplest answer is usually the right one, right? That means the aliens, like myself, came to see the ancient sites, too! They were, in essence, tourists from outer space.