Sighting in Banne, September 23, 2024

A witness on holiday with their spouse was parked in a camper van, alongside five others, behind the village church. At 22:05 they stepped outside to check the vehicle's remote control and noticed a bright point of light toward the north-northeast. It oscillated and shifted from yellowish white to red. After alerting their spouse, the witness went to fetch a smartphone. They shot a first video of a little over a minute at 22:08, then took three photos in a burst at 22:09. The observation continued on and off. At 22:12 the witness went out again to film a second video, of nearly two minutes, and at 22:55 took six more photos. The phenomenon remained visible throughout, after which the witness went to bed.

GEIPAN considered the case consistent, despite the absence of a statement from the spouse, thanks to the photos and videos, which could be analysed. Only one hypothesis was examined: the star Capella. A Stellarium reconstruction places it at 32° azimuth and 10° elevation, a direction consistent with the one the witness gave. Their estimated elevation (about 45°) was roughly 35° higher, a gap attributed to the overestimation witnesses often make. Strong scintillation, caused by heavy atmospheric disturbance near the horizon, accounts for the rapid colour changes. The long duration is typical of an astronomical phenomenon. The sky was overcast, but a distant gap low on the horizon could have exposed a first-magnitude star. The apparent movement in the videos comes from the heavy zoom, which magnifies the slightest hand movement, with no landscape reference visible. Some uncertainty remains about any movement seen with the naked eye, possibly due to micro-movements of the eye. The case is linked to another file from the same witness, three days earlier in the Cantal. GEIPAN classified it A: observation of the star Capella.