Sighting in Espédaillac, January 21, 2017

A witness reported several sightings of lights of various colours in the night sky during January and February 2017. One of them was observed at the same time by the witness, their partner and two gendarmes who had come to the scene. It took place during the night of 24 January, from about 12:50 a.m. to 1:40 a.m., and the light seemed to move.

GEIPAN gathered information by phone from one of the gendarmes and then from the main witness. The elevation and azimuth given matched Arcturus, which was then between 14° and 25° in elevation and between 75° and 85° toward the east. The perceived brightness relative to other stars also fitted. Mistaking a star for something else is common when it is seen low in the sky: the thickness and turbulence of the atmosphere disturb the light (scintillation), making the colours change and giving an impression of movement. That impression can be strengthened further by the autokinetic effect, especially when one stares closely at a point of light.

The witness's other sightings were also explained by stars known to cause this kind of confusion: Procyon for the one around 8 p.m., in roughly the same part of the sky, and Sirius (15° elevation) for the one on 27 February at about 2:30 a.m., in the opposite direction in azimuth (250°). GEIPAN therefore classified all the observations as A: sightings of stars, not always the same one.