Sighting in Saint-Denis, June 7, 1981

At around 11 p.m., two witnesses were looking out toward the sea when they noticed a luminous object. Above it was what they took to be a half-moon-shaped star, which gradually changed shape and grew larger. The luminous object itself stayed where it was and vanished after about eight minutes.

The case was among those classified "C" by GEPAN in 1981. GEIPAN reviewed it using software that was not available then, along with the investigative experience gained since. The review showed that the phenomenon described (duration, shape, size and colour) matched in many respects a well-known astronomical object: the Moon setting. The Moon was also present in the part of the sky the witnesses were watching, yet they did not mention it. The case, of low strangeness, is now classified A: a misidentification of the Moon.