We examine various claims of record and near record young moon sightings. We
find that the claims for 1916 May 2, 1895 July 22, and 1910 February 10 were made
under cloudy skies, hence the reports are likely to have an error in the date of
observation. Similar problems with the reported date have occurred for the claimed
sightings on I885 December 11, I989 May 5, and 1991 September 7· Other reports
from 1989 May 5 are shown to have reported incorrectly the moon’s position and
orientation, and so the observed source was not the moon. Of the reliable reports, the
record for sightings with the unaided eye is I 5·4 h by Julius Schmidt, while the record
for sightings with optical aid is 13 h 28 min by Robert C. Victor. We find that the
reliable reports can be sharply distinguished from the dubious reports based on such
factors as observer experience, promptness of report, and observer preparation.