Sighting in Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, March 25, 1980
Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France
Sighting on March 25, 1980 in Fontevraud-l'Abbaye (Maine-et-Loire, France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably the planet Venus (class B).
What happened
Several soldiers noticed an unusual light starting at 9:50 pm and watched it for about an hour. They described a yellowish ball, bigger than a star, giving off strong beams of light. It was in the west, a little above the horizon, though the witnesses could not give a precise angular height.
The investigation checked the sky chart for that time. It shows Venus in the west, about 11° above the horizon, with a very bright magnitude of -4.22. Sirius, at magnitude -1.45, was also clearly visible. According to GEIPAN, the witnesses were probably misled by Venus. The case is classed B: probable sighting of the planet Venus.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- March 25, 1980
- Location
- Fontevraud-l'Abbaye · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
- Explanation
- Planets
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 1980-03-00753
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.