Sighting in Fay-de-Bretagne, January 27, 1980
Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France
Sighting on January 27, 1980 in Fay-de-Bretagne (Loire-Atlantique, France). GEIPAN considers the phenomenon probably identified (class B).
What happened
Several witnesses saw an orange, glowing ball in a clear sky. It sat low on the horizon and seemed to flicker at times. The sighting began around 9:05 pm and ended around 9:10 pm, although some witnesses reckoned they had watched it for 10 to 15 minutes. A similar sighting took place the following day.
GEIPAN checked a sky chart for the date in question. Venus was visible in the west-southwest at a bright magnitude of -3.9, and it set below the horizon at about 9:10 pm. The testimonies were therefore most likely linked to the sighting of this planet, which is why the case was classed B (probably 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
- January 27, 1980
- Location
- Fay-de-Bretagne · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 1980-01-00723
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.