Sighting in Colmar, January 5, 2026

At about 6:13 pm, from home, the witness noticed a very intense white point of light above the crest of the Vosges. It looked about as big as a star and sat very low relative to the terrain. The witness first watched it with the naked eye for one to two minutes. It seemed to change direction often, with deviations toward the south leaving thin trails of light. The witness then filmed it with a smartphone for 3 minutes and 44 seconds, from indoors through a double-glazed window. At first the object was almost motionless. Ten seconds into the recording, the witness switched on a strong zoom and kept it on for 3 minutes and 34 seconds. The phenomenon then vanished suddenly. The witness could not identify it and suggested a drone, a balloon or some other aerial device. No other witness came forward.

GEIPAN judged the testimony consistent, thanks to a usable video. Frame-by-frame analysis showed that the jerky paths and light trails came only from hand shake made worse by the heavy zoom: the light source returned to its normal shape as soon as the movement stopped. These camera movements, together with the phenomenon's very slow speed, its color and its movement within a small area, led to the conclusion that it was a sky lantern, even though no release was found or claimed. The case was classified A.