An account in Yvelines, France

On Monday, May 24, 2010 at 10:30 PM, a witness observes a very bright yellow and static point from the first floor of a dwelling. He alerts his parents, who observe the same thing. Two photographs will be taken using a digital camera. No particular noise is heard during the observation, which will last 45 minutes before the witness decides to go to bed. The witness is intrigued because he also reports other observations of luminous phenomena made from this dwelling, without giving precise dates and in another geographic observation area. No other testimony about this phenomenon will be collected. The observation of May 24, 2010 is certainly that of Venus. The other repeated observations are probably observations of other celestial bodies (Mars and Sirius), very visible in April toward the Southwest (see star chart for April 2010). The 3 luminous points observed with binoculars are probably an optical aberration or an effect of atmospheric turbulence: this effect is very common for observations of very bright celestial bodies. The witnesses could also have observed, by day or at the beginning of the night, weather balloons released regularly from the Météo France center in Trappes (12 km to the SE of the observation location). These balloons are sometimes released in "trains," and are liable to "go out" suddenly when, at high altitude, the sun disappears behind the horizon. This case of May 24, 2010 is classified "A": astronomical observation of Venus.