ESTANDEUIL (63) 05.03.2016

On 5 March 2016 at about 23:00, a witness in Estandeuil (63) noticed a seemingly stationary light. Through a spotting scope he distinguished blue, violet and white rays. His wife thought it was a twinkling star or planet and described a star-like object with a violet color. He reported azimuth 236°, measured indirectly on Géoportail, and elevation below 15°. Between 23:00 and 23:30, Sirius moved from azimuth 215°, south-southwest, at 15° elevation to azimuth 225°, southwest, at 13° elevation; see the attached Stellarium chart. GEIPAN identifies Sirius, reasoning that otherwise the witness would have mentioned the conspicuous star immediately nearby in the clear sky, especially through a scope. It attributes the misidentification to Sirius's changing brightness and colors at low elevation, possibly enhanced by viewing through window glass. The case is classified as A: observation of Sirius.