Sighting in Le Coudray-Saint-Germer, September 3, 1984

Around midnight, two and then three people travelling by car noticed a very bright, red-orange phenomenon low in the sky. They spotted it several times along their route, between the Fontanettes, Le Coudray-Saint-Germer and the Champignolle crossroads. The sightings were intermittent and spread over half an hour to three quarters of an hour. No sound was heard. The object seemed to follow the car. Frightened, the witnesses turned back. Several of them spoke of panic, tears and screaming inside the car. One of them had already seen something similar from a car in July 1984, together with another witness.

The investigation found the case consistent: there were three witnesses, and their descriptions of the place and of the phenomenon were precise. They described a large, bright, orange or red object low on the south-western horizon. One witness said it was round but that a piece was missing on the left, which fits a gibbous Moon, between First Quarter and Full Moon. Calculations confirmed that the Moon was in the directions indicated, which the witnesses had fixed relative to the road axis, and that it was in that phase. The witnesses never mentioned it. No cloud veil was noted that could have encouraged the mistake, which is unusual. The GEIPAN classified the case as A: observation of the setting Moon.