TOULOUSE (31) 14.12.2015

On 14 December 2015 at 07:15, a witness and his wife saw a point of light through fog that seemed to sway and grow slightly. Only 1 account was collected. Plotting the reported direction on a map gives an azimuth of about 135°, southeast (see attached map). The sky chart places very bright Venus, magnitude −3.6, there at elevation 22°, compared with the witness’s estimate of 60°. Fainter Arcturus, magnitude 0.15, was at azimuth 117° and elevation 51°. GEIPAN considers the description characteristic of a bright celestial object seen through light fog, which hides other stars and slightly distorts its appearance. The impression of swaying fits the autokinetic illusion (see the article on perceiving movement of a point of light in the sky). The case is classified B: probable observation of Venus or Arcturus.