JOUE-LES-TOURS (37) 07.03.2015

On 7 March 2015 at about 01:35, a driver and his passenger noticed a luminous object apparently moving in the sky while traveling on the D37. The driver stopped on the hard shoulder, where they observed it for 3–4 minutes. The passenger took a photograph. No other accounts were collected. The driver stated at the start of his questionnaire that the UAP was to his left while he drove along a straight section, then appeared to move right when he entered a left-hand bend. GEIPAN explains this as a familiar perceptual illusion caused by observers moving while watching a distant, stationary object without reference points, especially at night. Its apparent motion follows the vehicle's movements. When the witnesses stopped for a better view, the UAP also seemed to become stationary. The investigation report cites the object's shape, colour, brightness and apparent size; matching azimuth and elevation; the established movement illusion; an effect it identifies as physiological micro-nystagmus; and probable disappearance behind clouds. GEIPAN concludes that they certainly observed the star Capella, with the perceived movement explained by the vehicle-related illusion and micro-nystagmus. It considers a cloud bank the probable reason the star disappeared and classifies the case A: observation of Capella. The source discusses the marked difference between the witnesses' account and this ordinary explanation. It attributes the misidentification to an incorrect distance estimate: because the light appeared above a water tower, they interpreted it as near the ground, and treated its apparent motion along the horizon as real movement. Brightness variations, probably caused by an otherwise invisible veil of cloud, were interpreted as the object approaching or receding.