Sighting in Fismes, December 25, 2014

Around 1 a.m., on Christmas night, a witness saw two orange lights moving across the sky. They followed the same path, one behind the other, a few seconds apart. They travelled from the southwest toward the east, crossing the sky over a few minutes. Only one account was collected.

GEIPAN considered that orange balls crossing the sky on a festive night strongly suggest Thai lanterns, most likely released nearby for Christmas. The direction of travel fits the west wind of 11 to 20 km/h recorded at Reims-Prunay, 40 km to the east. The witness could already make out a good deal of detail, so the objects were probably flying lower than they estimated, at around 50 m altitude. The blurriness they noted was mostly due to the flickering flame and the steam or smoke coming off it. The case is classified B: probable sighting of Thai lanterns.