Sighting in Angoulême, October 9, 2010

The witness reported in October 2012 an observation made two years earlier, at around 1:20 a.m. Using binoculars, they were looking at the sky toward the south-southwest and noticed a luminous object whose brightness surprised them. They could also make out small points of light in different colors. They placed the object in the southwest, very bright, while the surrounding stars were barely visible.

Investigators compared these details with a sky chart oriented to match the witness's line of sight. It shows Jupiter, brighter than any star, drifting slowly westward and losing a little height between 1:20 and 2:20 a.m. A fairly humid southeast wind lightened the background sky, hid the faintest stars and caused strong twinkling. This probably explains the color changes between green, white and red that the witness described.

The GEIPAN classified the case B: probable observation of Jupiter. A gap of about 20° between the position the witness gave and the planet's actual position leaves some uncertainty, which prevents a rating of A.