Sighting in Carlux, November 11, 2020

Over about ten days, from 11 to 20 November 2020, two witnesses noticed moving lights in the night sky that intrigued them. The sightings were intermittent and very long, sometimes lasting several hours. One of the witnesses filmed the phenomena. Through binoculars, one of them showed a particular shape.

The investigation looked at the astronomical situation on those evenings. The positions of Sirius, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars matched precisely those of the phenomena the witness described and filmed. The slow movement over several hours is explained by the rotation of the Earth. The shape seen through binoculars is explained by the exceptional conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, which may have added to the confusion. The brief movements may come from optical effects linked to autokinesis.

The case was judged highly consistent, particularly as two witnesses, including the investigator, saw it repeatedly. The ephemerides confirm the explanation, and GEIPAN classified the case "A", fully explained, as an astronomical misidentification.