Sighting in Paris, February 15, 2022

At 7:30 a.m., a passenger on a TGV INOUI train traveling from Paris to Poitiers noticed a very bright white point of light in the sky. The witness came up with several possible explanations themselves, but felt that none of them matched the trajectory or movement of what they saw. Theirs was the only account collected. It was nonetheless backed up by photos, a drawing and a short but usable video, so GEIPAN rated the consistency of the case as correct.

The investigation found that the shape, color, brightness and point-like appearance of the phenomenon, as seen in the images and in the witness's description, matched Venus perfectly. A check with Stellarium put the planet at an azimuth of 141°, exactly that of the light visible in the video. The witness stated that there was only one point of light in the sky; since Venus was clearly visible at that time and in that direction, it was Venus that they had seen and filmed.

What had struck the witness most was the unusual movement and speed of the light. GEIPAN attributes this to the so-called "following ball illusion": aboard a TGV traveling at up to 300 km/h, the passing landscape and clouds, along with the train's changes of direction, can create the impression that an observed object is moving. The case was classified A: observation of Venus.