Zigzagging luminous phenomenon in the Ain region (1954)

Summary

Between 1:30 and 3:30 a.m. on 20 November 1954, several people in France's Ain region observed a luminous phenomenon in a clear sky. The sole recorded testimony describes an object moving in vertical zigzags from the southeast, alternating between bright and dim phases and surrounded by a halo. Investigators initially considered it might be the star Sirius, visible to the southeast at that hour, with the halo caused by atmospheric Saharan dust.

However, imprecise directional data — the elevation was given in metres rather than degrees — made it impossible to confirm this explanation. The witness placed the azimuth toward the southeast with no change over time, hampering deeper analysis. GEIPAN classified the case as C due to insufficient information, noting the unusual movements could reflect either a real object or an optical illusion from fixating on a bright point in darkness.