SOLOMIAC (32) 16.08.2022

On 16 August 2023, according to the narrative, a witness in Solomiac (32) watched a very bright round light low in the northeast from 02:00 to 02:30. It rose slowly, maintained its shape and showed red glints. Observation ended because clouds hid it and the hour was late. The witness's partner briefly saw it but supplied no account. He initially considered a helicopter light, then found its slow sustained movement over 30 minutes anomalous. The title dates the case to 16 August 2022, a year earlier than the narrative. GEIPAN judged the evidence moderate: 1 account and no photograph or video of the UAP. A reconstruction photograph nevertheless proved particularly useful. GEIPAN defines evidential support as the amount of information collected for an account that is considered reliable and objectively established. After rejecting aircraft and helicopter hypotheses, the investigation favoured Capella (see the investigation report). GEIPAN cited a round appearance commonly reported for bright point-like celestial objects, white colour with red glints characteristic of scintillation near the horizon, and slow motion over 30 minutes. The reconstruction photograph allowed correction of initially erroneous questionnaire azimuths and elevations at the start and end. The remaining differences from Capella were 5°–9° in azimuth and 6°–8° in elevation, which GEIPAN considered insignificant within the reconstruction and calculation uncertainties. It also argued that if the UAP were separate, the witness should have seen 2 similar nearby lights, including Capella, rather than only 1. The witness had rejected a star because he believed none that bright was in that sector. The source, citing Wikipedia, describes Capella as the fourth-brightest star visible from the northern hemisphere and places it in that region that night. GEIPAN classified the case A: very probable Capella.