Sighting in Campan, July 23, 2013
Hautes-Pyrénées, Occitanie, France
Sighting on July 23, 2013 in Campan (Hautes-Pyrénées, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was the Moon (class A).
What happened
In the early morning, the witness saw a luminous sphere moving slowly and silently above the ridge of a mountain near their home. The next day, about an hour later, they saw almost the same sight again.
The GEIPAN investigation relied on an astronomical check and on several email exchanges that provided additional details. It concluded that the witness had mistaken the full Moon, setting at the time, for an unusual object. This kind of mix-up is fairly common when the sky is slightly cloudy: a light close to the horizon is often taken for an object flying over the landscape rather than for a celestial body. The case was classified A, meaning identified.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- July 23, 2013
- Location
- Campan · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Moon
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2013-07-08503
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.