Cop calls backup for “drone” following her only to find out it’s planet Jupiter

A rookie police officer in Glasgow, Scotland, was recently embarrassed to discover that the “drone” she thought was pursuing her on her way to a shopping center was actually just the planet Jupiter. Local news outlets report that the embarrassing mix-up has become the talk of her station.

The Daily Record reported Saturday that the officer left her station around midnight Tuesday when she first saw the bright light she believed to be a drone. She attempted to “lose the drone” on her way to a local shopping center; however, she failed. Afraid, she eventually called the general complaints number for Police Scotland to report that she was being followed by a drone and “couldn’t lose it.”

The operator working the complaints line told the officer to return to her station where she could meet with a senior officer. So, she did as she was told.

According to police via Daily Record, when she arrived at her station, “she was found standing in the police yard with her hood up trying to hide from the ‘drone’ and pointed out the bright white dot in the sky.” When the senior officer looked up at the light, they realized that the drone she’d been afraid of was actually just Jupiter.

EarthSky claims that Jupiter and Saturn are “nearly at their most glorious this month.” This is because the planets will both reach opposition in August.

Sky at Night Magazine reports that Jupiter will reach opposition on August 19. “Opposition,” the magazine explains, “describes when a planet or other body is in the opposite part of the sky to the Sun.” During this time, a planet is at its closest to Earth, making it appear much larger and much brighter than usual.

As Jupiter makes its way toward opposition, those in the Northern Hemisphere can see it clearly from evening until dawn, as this officer did in Glasgow.

According to the Daily Record, the officer’s mistake is the “talk” of the station. “Nobody can quite believe it,” an anonymous police source told the outlet. “She was very alarmed and spooked that she was being followed by a drone.”

The source continued to say that the officer was “embarrassed” when it was explained to her that the “drone” was simply a planet. Apparently, those at her station are “concerned.”

“This is going to haunt her for years,” they said.

Local reports did not name the officer.