Case · UFO Afrinews No 14, July 1996
Venus at its brightest: calls about a brilliant evening light, May 1996
1996 ยท Zimbabwe (callers to Hind in Harare), Zimbabwe
What was reported
Hind opens her astronomy column with a wave of telephone calls around 4 May 1996 about an exceptionally bright light in the evening sky. It stood not far above the horizon, did not remain visible long and then sank from view, but callers found it striking. She tells readers plainly that it was Venus at its greatest brilliancy, notes a second peak due on 17 July, and elsewhere in the issue remarks that Venus produced several misidentifications in April and May, including the first impression in the Chinhoyi shape-changer report.
What Hind made of it
Solved: it was Venus at greatest brilliancy.
Explanation offered
Venus at greatest brilliancy (magnitude -4.5)
In their words
-
for those of you who saw it, fairly early in the evening, it was Venus!
Cross references
- The Shape Changer, Case No 120 (14-13-1)
- Shuttle tether, March 1996 (14-16-1)