Sighting in Mios, May 3, 2018

At around 10:30 pm, a witness noticed a steady light low in a clear sky and was intrigued by it. According to the witness, it then began to move in several directions: left to right, up and down, moving away and coming closer. It also changed color, going from white to yellow, at times seeming to burst. The witness heard no noise and filmed the scene, which lasted three to four minutes. Theirs was the only testimony collected.

The investigation concluded that the witness had very probably seen Jupiter. The position matched well: the planet was in the southeast (123°) at an elevation of 9°, close to the 15° the witness estimated. The look of a fixed point of light fits a star or planet. The color changes and bursting effects are explained by the atmosphere, especially when humidity is high. The apparent movements come from two well-known effects when watching stars: autokinesis, an eye phenomenon that produces apparent angular motion, and intensity fluctuations caused by the atmosphere, which the witness read as the light approaching or receding. The observation ended when a cloud passed, which is plausible since data from the Cap-Ferret station show the sky was not fully overcast at the end of the day. GEIPAN classified the case as A.