EMANVILLE (27) 22.08.2016

A witness in Émanville (27) reported repeated sightings from 22 August 2016 of a stationary luminous object from several locations. To the naked eye it appeared colored, moving left to right and returning to its original position. Both naked-eye and telescope views showed red, blue and green. Other people also saw it, but only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN identifies a star. In the reported north-northeast direction, the candidate is Capella. The witness later said that discussions with his astronomy club led him to identify Arcturus, which was due west and higher at 30°. Assuming he knew the directions from his home, GEIPAN prefers Capella. The source describes a typical illusion of a fixed star moving when stared at, acknowledged by the witness, who reported sideways motion, descent and a return to its place. GEIPAN classifies the case as B: Capella.