Sighting in Saint-Christoly-Médoc, February 22, 2020

At around 9:00 pm, from home, the witness noticed a very bright glow in the distance, a point that twinkled far more than the stars. To the naked eye it looked stationary and kept twinkling. Through binoculars, and then with a phone's zoom, it took on the appearance of a cut, gold-coloured diamond. The light grew more intense, then dimmed and finally faded into the night. The observation lasted about 45 minutes. The witness took photos and videos, as well as a reconstruction photo that made it possible to locate the phenomenon in the sky at the time of the sighting.

The GEIPAN investigation concluded that the witness had seen the planet Venus, which was in the direction of observation at that hour and was the brightest object in the night sky that evening. The unusual shape seen through the binoculars and the phone zoom was explained by an optical and imaging effect caused by poor focus. The disappearance was most likely due to a layer of high-altitude cloud gradually covering the planet, which gave the impression that it was fading into the night sky. The case was classified A.