Probable Venus observation at Bernaville in 1980

Summary

On January 16, 1980, several witnesses in Bernaville (Somme) observed a very bright white ball in the southwestern sky. The object appeared to change color, size, and intensity, and seemed to have threads hanging from it, though no sound was heard. It disappeared around 9 PM. One witness tried to photograph it, but the film turned out completely black. The gendarmerie ruled out French weather balloons, though a foreign balloon had been detected in another area days earlier. Venus, at magnitude −3.84, was near the horizon in the southwest and set at the same time. Investigators concluded the witnesses were most likely observing Venus.