Sighting in Saint-Égrève, March 17, 2009
Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Sighting on March 17, 2009 in Saint-Égrève (Isère, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was the star Antares (class A).
What happened
At 2:20 a.m., a witness noticed a bright point of light close to the Moon, which caught their attention. Later, at their workplace and with colleagues, they observed it again several times. The brightness of the point faded as daylight came. Its position and movement puzzled the witnesses, and one of them described it as turning around the Moon.
The investigation showed, from the configuration of the sky at that time, that the witnesses had been looking at the star Antares. This star appears to "follow" the Moon and to circle around it. This apparent motion is natural: it results from the very different distances separating the star and the Moon from us, together with the rotation of the Earth. GEIPAN classified the case as A, meaning identified.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- March 17, 2009
- Location
- Saint-Égrève · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Stars
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2009-03-02238
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.