Sighting in Rouen, April 1, 2017

At around 10:30 pm, a witness and two other people noticed a very bright point of light in the night sky, fairly low above the horizon. It seemed to flicker and change colour. The witness often compared it to a star, but found it somewhat larger and brighter, and above all was struck by the changes in colour. They placed it above a CHU hospital building. The haze the witness had seen, or else the clouds present that evening, made the light disappear.

Only the witness replied to the GEIPAN; the two people with them gave no testimony, which often happens when the sense of strangeness is not shared.

The investigation showed that Jupiter was indeed in the south-east that evening, 10° to 20° above the horizon, where the witness had indicated. The planet is very bright (magnitude -2.45, with only Venus brighter), and at low elevation its colours can vary because of atmospheric scattering and turbulence, which are stronger near the horizon. This mistake lies behind many reports made to the GEIPAN. The case was classified A: the witness had observed the planet Jupiter.