UFO Overlaps the Moon in France 1980

Summary

In the early hours of February 24, 1980, a group of young people in Les Sables d'Olonne noticed an orange glow through the pines heading toward the beach. As they moved for a better view, they saw a large, almost spherical object heading toward Île d’Yeu. The object moved vertically at a very slow and constant speed. The observation lasted about ten minutes, ending as the object slowly sank into the ocean, leaving a whitish glow. A gendarme on patrol also saw the object around 3:05 AM, describing it as larger than a quarter of the moon, with a red-orange color and no shine. The object moved slowly and descended vertically without changing shape or color. The confusion with the moon, which set precisely at 3:12 AM, was understandable. The moon was in its first quarter, appearing as an inverted half-disk. However, the object lacked the moon’s shine and did not behave like an astronomical phenomenon.