Venus mistaken for a UFO in Marseille

Summary

On March 31, 2018, a witness in Marseille observed a luminous ball with changing colors slowly descending from the sky. The light followed a descending trajectory and disappeared behind the hill of Notre Dame de la Garde. The witness, from his balcony, described the scene as if "a star was slowly falling from the sky, in slow motion." However, after a detailed analysis, the GEIPAN concluded that the observed phenomenon was not unexplained, but the planet Venus. Despite the witness believing Venus was hidden by the hill, the reconstruction showed that Venus was visible, albeit very low on the horizon. Its changing colors were due to atmospheric effects, which explained the perception of a mysterious object.

The case was classified as "A," indicating a natural phenomenon with an astronomical explanation. Venus, at that time, was slowly moving across the sky, going from 2° to 0.5° elevation in ten minutes, which is perceptible to the human eye, especially near the horizon. Although the witness did not correctly identify the object, his description turned out to be consistent with the appearance of Venus under those conditions. This case is an example of how human perception can interpret natural phenomena as extraordinary events, especially when dealing with unusual celestial objects.