ETUPES (25) 22.08.2017

On 22 August 2017 at 04:30, a witness on the first floor of his home in Étupes (25) observed a stationary light in the eastern sky. He took photographs and videos with a tablet and camcorder during what the source calls a half-hour observation. Only 1 account was collected. The source also discusses a video filmed outside at dawn at 06:08 that day, later than the stated half-hour interval. Landmarks in it allow the UAP's azimuth to be estimated at about 84°. Stellarium shows Venus at the same time and azimuth, with apparent magnitude -4. The source notes that Venus is the third-brightest natural object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. GEIPAN explains the unusual zoomed appearance as defocusing with equipment unsuitable for magnifying a planet or star. It describes optical and electronic artifacts when a point source is filmed with zoom: the shape varies with movement and reflects the camera aperture. A defect in that aperture could account for the round shape with a downward point in all the zoomed videos; see the investigation materials. GEIPAN also attributes the colors to chromatic aberrations associated with defocusing and refers to the case ANNEMASSE (74), 08.04.2012, on www.geipan.fr. The witness described the UAP as a large star with no change of trajectory and little movement. GEIPAN considers that the perceived unusualness arose mainly from the camera display and suggests that he might not have reported it had he observed only with the naked eye. GEIPAN classifies the case as A: definite observation of Venus.