Sighting in Oyé, May 8, 2022

Two witnesses were leaving a nightclub where they had spent the evening, at around 2:00 or 2:15 a.m. They were driving along the D34 towards Varenne-l'Arconce. The passenger noticed something in the sky that they described as an orange thread, and pointed it out to the driver, who then saw it too. As they drove, the phenomenon seemed to grow larger and to sink towards the ground. During a stop it vanished, then reappeared five minutes later. The witnesses set off again to get closer but could not find it. They then noticed a smell of tyres and burnt oil. Thinking an aircraft was on fire, the driver phoned the fire brigade, who arrived at about 2:40 a.m. The phenomenon was not seen again. No photo was taken, but the two accounts were precise, and GEIPAN rated them as having good consistency.

The study, based on the gendarmerie report, concluded that the witnesses had seen the first-quarter Moon through clouds, and possibly behind obstacles on the ground, since it was very low on the horizon. The Moon was indeed in the direction of observation: the azimuths reconstructed from three observation points differed from it by only 1 to 4°. Clouds were present in that direction, which explains the changing shape, and the orange colour is consistent with the Moon low on the horizon. Its elevation was dropping during the observation as the Moon set, and the winding, uphill road gave an impression of horizontal and vertical movement. The temporary disappearance matches a cloud passing completely over the Moon; the final disappearance matches its very low height, which may have hidden it for good behind clouds or ground obstacles. Had the phenomenon been something else, the witnesses should have seen the Moon in the same direction. The smell of tyres and burnt oil came from an entirely separate local cause and may have added to the strange impression. GEIPAN classified the case as A: observation of the Moon.