An account in Sarthe, France

On December 18, 1977, at around 1:20 a.m., about ten people in a hamlet in the municipality of Sainte-Cérotte (72) observed a red-orange phenomenon in the sky. The witnesses could not estimate the distance of the phenomenon and did not agree on its shape. But all of them noticed the movements (descent and ascent) of the object and its progressive disappearance toward the West. No particular noise was heard during the observations of this phenomenon, and no other testimony was collected by the gendarmerie. This observation case is one of the cases classified as "C" by GEPAN under the name SAINT-CALAIS (72) 18.12.1977. It was recently re-examined (see the document Notes d'enquête). This case is consistent (about ten witnesses), and the description of the observed UAP is fairly precise. The sincerity and credibility of the witnesses have never been questioned. The described phenomenon presents many common characteristics (observation duration, shape, size, color) with a perfectly known astronomical object: the Moon at setting. Moreover, the Moon was indeed present in the observed area of the sky, while the witnesses do not mention it. It is not the visual perception of the witnesses that is in question, but the interpretation that the witnesses make of their observation through their feelings (fatigue, night observation, misinterpretation of the Moon's position). In the current GEIPAN classification, this case of average strangeness is classified as "A", observation linked to a misidentification with the Moon.