MAUGUIO (34) 27.04.2012

A witness reported seeing a yellow luminous phenomenon above the étangs du Grec and de Pérols at Carnon Plage, Mauguio (34), on 27 April 2012 at 00:20. Shaped like a crescent Moon, it was nearly stationary before moving back and forth. No sound was heard during 40 minutes. No other account was collected. The direction in the witness's sketch closely matches the Moon's position, azimuth 290°, shown on the western-sky chart. Video confirms the object was the Moon, occasionally obscured by clouds. GEIPAN explains its apparent westward motion as an optical illusion caused by the background clouds moving east, as the weather record indicates. The case is classified A: the Moon with an illusion of movement.