Sighting in Savignac-les-Églises, March 15, 2009

At around 10:15 pm, a witness was intrigued by a very bright, ionized-looking circle hanging motionless above the ridge of their home's roof. The object shrank rapidly and then vanished. The sighting lasted about 4 seconds and no sound was heard. No other witness came forward, and no festive activity was reported in the municipality.

The investigation noted that the planet Saturn lay very close to the direction the witness indicated. It was particularly bright at that time, with a magnitude of 0.64, slightly brighter than the stars of the Big Dipper. Two points remained problematic, however: the witness described a disc, whereas Saturn looks like a point to the naked eye, even for someone with very good eyesight; and the disappearance was also unexplained. A photo of the observation site shows a tree between the observer and the sky, so a movement by the witness or by a branch could have hidden the planet. Because of these two uncertainties, the GEIPAN classified the case as C, insufficient data.