Planet mistaken for distress flare

A rescue mission in Britain was abandoned after it was discovered a reported distress flare was actually the planet Jupiter.

A rescue mission launched in Britain was called off when a reported distress flare was revealed to be the planet Jupiter.

Tynemouth RNLI and a RAF helicopter were called out to aid a potentially troubled vessel off the coast of North Tyneside but when an extensive search failed to produce the boat, it was discovered the informant had mistaken the bright sparks of Jupiter for flares

Adrian Don, from Tynemouth RNLI, said: "As the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade spoke further to the member of the public it became apparent that the flares were in fact the planet Jupiter which is very low in the sky at this time of year.

"There were several stars visible in the sky at the time.

"But we were able to plot the position of Jupiter and discovered it was where the caller had reported seeing the distress flare.

"Jupiter gives off a bright red light which could be mistaken for flames.

"And the fact that it was also partly covered by clouds could have possibly given it the appearance of a flare."

Despite the false alarm, the RNLI said that it was made with the "best intentions" and insisted it wasn't a prank call.