SAVIGNAC-LES-EGLISES (24) 15.03.2009

On 15 March 2009 at about 22:15, a witness in Savignac-les-Églises (24) saw a very bright stationary circle, described as ionized, above his house's roof ridge. It rapidly shrank and disappeared. No sound was heard during the approximately 4-second sighting. No other report or local festive activity was recorded. GEIPAN notes that Saturn lay very close to the reported direction and was particularly bright then, magnitude 0.64, slightly brighter than the stars of Ursa Major. However, the witness, who had very good eyesight, described a disk, whereas Saturn appears point-like to the naked eye. Disappearance is another difficulty, although a site photograph shows a tree between observer and sky: movement of the witness or a branch could have hidden the planet. These 2 unresolved issues lead GEIPAN to classify the case C.