Sighting in Belmont-sur-Rance, February 20, 2012
Aveyron, Occitanie, France
Sighting on February 20, 2012 in Belmont-sur-Rance (Aveyron, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was the planet Venus (class A).
What happened
Two witnesses reported watching a very bright phenomenon in the sky for a long time. The first, in the Aveyron department, looked west on 20 and 21 February 2012, at around 8:20 pm, and saw an exceptionally bright point of light moving slowly. They used a camera and a video camera to get a better view and to film it. The second witness, in the Tarn department, separately saw "a sort of very, very bright star".
The investigation found that the point of light both witnesses saw was the planet Venus, as shown by a sky chart. At that time of year it was particularly easy to see and twinkled strongly in the western sky at dusk. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as A, meaning the phenomenon was identified.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- February 20, 2012
- Location
- Belmont-sur-Rance · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Planets
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2012-02-08199
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.