Sighting in Blaisy-Bas, May 2, 2004

Two evenings in a row, a witness and their son noticed lights in the night sky that puzzled them. On the first evening, around 11:30 pm, the parent went to the window and saw a large green luminous ball that looked ten times bigger than a star. The son, called over to look, described a big yellow and green star, larger than the other stars out that night. They watched it for a long time with the naked eye, then through binoculars, and filmed it. On the second evening, around 8:30 pm according to the file (the witness also mentions 10:30 pm), they filmed the phenomenon again.

The witnesses described a sphere like a tennis ball, rapidly moving closer and then away, and zigzagging left to right and up and down. Other luminous balls were said to have lined up in a V above it, dropped quickly toward the village lights, then left just as fast. Later, one ball came back with a smaller one. The light was very intense. The weather report said the sky was cloudy, yet several stars were visible.

The GEIPAN investigation concluded the witnesses had mistaken Venus, in the north-west, for something unusual. It was far brighter than the neighbouring stars and its colours can change with atmospheric effects. That night Venus formed a V with Saturn, Mars, Elnath and Capella, and the whole group was sinking toward the horizon. Pollux and Castor may then have taken its place. The back-and-forth motion fits a known illusion in which changes in brightness are read as changes in distance. The added strangeness appeared with the binoculars and the video, probably as artefacts of the equipment. GEIPAN did not have the video given to the gendarmerie. The case, originally classed D, became B after review: probable sightings of Venus.