Sighting in Aumelas, December 4, 2021

A motorist driving at about 110 km/h on the motorway in the early evening noticed many yellow lights in the night sky, lined up in a shape like a "stick". They watched it for ten to fifteen seconds while driving. Shortly afterwards, the whole thing went out at once and vanished completely, with no movement noticed. There was only one witness, and no photo or video exists.

The witness had themselves considered sky lanterns, but rejected the idea because of the large number of objects and because the lantern videos they had watched did not look like what they had seen.

The GEIPAN investigation concluded that this was a group of sky lanterns. Yellow is less common than orange, but it is possible depending on how colours are perceived. At a distance, each lantern looks like a mere point. Released together in light wind, lanterns stay fairly close to one another, and since they are not all let go at exactly the same moment, they can form a slanted band. Their very slow drift, their distance and the short observation time explain why no movement was seen. The weather was calm and it was a Saturday evening, suited to a release at a local or family celebration, even though December is not the most favourable season. The disappearance matches the lanterns reaching the end of their burn. Their apparently simultaneous extinction is unusual and added to the strangeness. Videos are not necessarily representative, as the look of a release varies greatly with wind, distance and viewing angle. The case was classified B: a very probable group of sky lanterns.