Jupiter mistaken for a UFO at Vélizy-Villacoublay in 1953

Summary

A white luminous sphere caught the attention of several observers at Vélizy-Villacoublay on the night of 3 November 1953. The static object, positioned to the northeast in clear sky, was logged by an air traffic controller directly in the tower diary. Two days later, the controller confirmed that two other military personnel had witnessed the same phenomenon.

Astronomical analysis resolved the case: Jupiter was located in precisely that direction at an exceptionally bright magnitude of −2.22 and an elevation of only 3.6° above the horizon — conditions that readily produce visual misidentifications. GEIPAN concluded it was the planet Jupiter.