VENDIN-LE-VIEL (62) HENIN-BEAUMONT (62) 12.11.1986

Summary

On the night of November 12, 1986, starting at 2:45 AM, several people in Vendin-Le-Viel and Henin-Beaumont observed a luminous phenomenon in the sky. It was a bright disk that seemed to follow the observers, a situation that UFO researchers already recognized as a possible confusion with a celestial body—in this case, the Moon. One witness recalled that a colleague said: "The moon is very low today," but was quickly challenged by another who insisted it was not the Moon. Although the testimony did not clearly specify from which side of the road the observation was made, it did indicate that the direction was west (azimuth 270°). The actual position of the Moon at that time was 261°, very close to the reported direction.

The Moon, which was gibbous that night, was partially hidden by clouds, explaining why it wasn't immediately recognized. The sketches made by the witnesses matched the appearance of the Moon. Moreover, the description of the phenomenon's movement—descending slowly at an angle—was identical to that of a celestial body setting. The witness noted the phenomenon disappeared at 3:07 AM, very close to the exact time of the lunar setting (3:11 AM). This case was classified as "A," meaning fully identified, due to the clear match between the observation and the actual position of the Moon.