Sighting in Gujan-Mestras, January 14, 2015

A witness saw a luminous phenomenon in the sky at 6:25 p.m., made up of several white lights. There was no trail and no halo, and it made no sound. The sighting lasted several minutes, and this witness was the only one interviewed.

The investigation noted that two points of light sat low on the horizon, which suggests celestial bodies close to setting. The sky chart shows that at that time, toward the west-southwest (in the direction of the Dune du Pilat, south of Arcachon), the planets Venus and Mercury were clearly visible 8° above the horizon. They are rarely so close together and so bright. The photograph was taken roughly 45° to the south of the axis of the allée du plaçot, which itself points due west.

GEIPAN classified the case as B: probably Venus and Mercury at their setting. Because the direction of observation given by the witness is not very precise, this hypothesis is not firmly established.