PRADES-LE-LEZ (34) 14.06.2017

At 05:00 on Wednesday 14 June 2017, a witness in Prades-le-Lez (34) saw a very bright stationary phenomenon: a white double-lobed shape with a red point in the middle. Apart from the Moon, he saw no stars shining. Only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN considered Venus probable. It explains that Venus can be the only conspicuous star-like object in the dark sky between 05:00 and 06:00 in June. Venus was east, while the witness tentatively said southeast. He placed the Moon to its right along what he called a “vertical line of 45°”, consistent with their relative positions. GEIPAN attributes a non-point-like, multicoloured appearance to atmospheric effects on light rays, describing red lobes in its explanation, whereas the initial account described white lobes and a central red point. Firm confirmation was impossible because the report was imprecise and made 6 months later. The witness stopped watching after 5 minutes without waiting for the phenomenon to end and took no photograph. GEIPAN interpreted this, together with the delay, as suggesting little perceived strangeness at the time. Although the French summary states an observation of Venus without qualification, GEIPAN's narrative concludes B: probable observation of Venus.