Sighting in Chatelay, March 7, 2014
Jura, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
Sighting on March 7, 2014 in Chatelay (Jura, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was the Moon (class A).
What happened
During the night, between 12:25 and 12:40 a.m., a witness and their young granddaughter noticed a yellow-orange, crescent-shaped object in the sky. The witness had the presence of mind to take photographs.
The investigation found that the photograph matched exactly how the Moon looked that night: a first quarter, with about 34% of its disc lit. The Moon was setting in the west-northwest, with its astronomical setting at 12:40 a.m. The witness had nevertheless found the sight abnormal and stated that the Moon rises and sets on the other side of their house, which surprised the investigators, since the Moon, like the Sun, always rises close to the east and sets close to the west. The fear shown by the granddaughter at such a late hour may have unsettled the witness.
GEIPAN classified the case as A: the object was the Moon at its setting.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- March 7, 2014
- Location
- Chatelay · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Moon
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2014-03-09126
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.