Sighting in Caudan, December 21, 1981

At about 10:10 pm, a family watched a round, orange light in the sky toward the southeast for roughly ten minutes. The witness described it as moving very fast, along straight paths with sudden sharp changes of direction. The point of light was surrounded by flashes of the same color that appeared and disappeared in turn. It then vanished toward the south. A second glow, lower in the sky to the east, was seen for a few seconds before disappearing completely. Only one account was collected, even though several people were present.

For the main phenomenon, the investigation concluded that the witnesses most probably saw the star Sirius, which was then low on the southeast horizon, in the direction reported. The sky was clear, with a few passing low clouds. At that height the star twinkles strongly and erratically, because its light passes through a thick layer of atmosphere. The rapid movements described match the tiny involuntary eye movements that occur when staring at a point of light at night, which create an impression of zigzagging. The fact that the witness noted a tendency to drift south suggests that the overall angular movement over ten minutes was small. The disappearance could have been caused by a bank of low clouds.

Two points prevented full confirmation: the witness did not give the object's height in the sky, and clouds may have hidden Sirius. Even so, the Sirius explanation was judged far more likely than not. GEIPAN classified this phenomenon as B (probably identified: Sirius). The second glow was too brief and too poorly documented to be analyzed.