Sighting in Steinbach, December 29, 2013

At about 5:45 a.m., the witness was on the terrace of their home when a glow appeared in the sky between clouds. A shimmering disc then came into view. The witness described it as a slightly tilted, light yellow disc. It stayed still and soon vanished behind the clouds; it was visible only through a gap in the cloud cover, for about two seconds. The witness placed it above Cernay, looking from home toward Mulhouse, which they took to be south. No other witness came forward.

Investigators checked this direction on a map: Cernay and Mulhouse actually lie to the south-east, at an azimuth of roughly 125°. A sky chart places the Moon at 129° azimuth and 9° elevation, at last quarter, as a thin, steeply tilted crescent. The witness most likely did not recognise the Moon because of the clouds and the very short observation. GEIPAN classed the case B, probable observation of the Moon. A slight doubt remains, since the witness estimated the elevation at 20° whereas the Moon stood at 9°.