Sighting in Aucamville, September 13, 2015

In the night, between 1:15 and 1:30 a.m., a witness standing on their balcony saw eight bright orange lights go by without making any sound. The sky was clear. The objects appeared one after another, travelled from the southeast toward the northwest, and then vanished one behind the other. The witness took photographs. Theirs was the only account collected about this phenomenon.

The photos are out of focus, which is very common with night shots in these conditions, and show only a blurry orange circle. They do confirm that something real was there, and the color matches that of Thai lanterns. GEIPAN considered that orange balls crossing the sky within a few minutes on a weekend night strongly suggest such lanterns, most likely released nearby after the local festival or a private party. The direction of travel is consistent with the east wind, shifting to the southeast during the night, recorded at Toulouse Blagnac. The very steady path is normal for objects carried by a light wind, and lanterns released one after another at equal intervals, tied to the time needed to light the burner, would produce such an orderly line. Because they are dim, these lanterns are often judged to be farther away, and therefore faster, than they really are. The case was classified B: probable sighting of Thai lanterns.