Sighting in Eybens, January 8, 2023

Between 1:30 and 1:36 a.m., a witness standing in front of their home saw an orange light to the west-north-west, above the Vercors. It consisted of a central point surrounded by a fairly bright orange glow, which the witness compared to a fairly bright flame in the distance. It moved slowly along a horizontal path, oriented south-north or south-west to north-east, at an estimated elevation of 30 to 35° at the start and 30 to 40° at the end. The witness mentioned a possible vertical climb at the beginning. Buildings hid it after 10 to 15 seconds. About six minutes later, a second phenomenon appeared, identical to the first in every respect. The witness managed to film it briefly before it passed through the clouds, lighting them slightly. No other witness account was collected.

GEIPAN rated the observation as of medium consistency and rather low strangeness. It classified it as B: very probably two sky lanterns. The shape, the color and the flame-like glow matched this type of object. The movement followed the wind direction, with a straight horizontal path toward the end. The night from Saturday to Sunday was well suited to lantern releases at local or private celebrations. The lanterns had probably been released some time earlier: they had reached the clouds, the lowest layer of which was at 2,100 m, and the second was even hidden by them. A lantern flies for about 20 minutes at most, enough time for this climb. The distance and a possible perspective effect made the real trajectory hard to judge. The witness's video could not be used, as the phenomenon was not visible in it, even after enhancement.