Sighting in Gisors, January 27, 2024

Late in the evening, the witness was at home when an intense, flickering red light outside caught their attention. They went to the window, which was open, and saw a shape moving at extremely high speed with no sound at all. They then noticed several other phenomena that looked alike and seemed to form a geometric pattern, all heading the same way before vanishing. A second identical series then appeared, and the witness made three videos. The objects followed the same path as the first group and disappeared at the same spot.

All of them travelled from the south-east towards the north-east along a curved path, at an elevation of about 45°. The witness described them as red and very bright, with shapes suggesting broken lines. On the videos they looked pale yellow, and the brightness and colour were not rendered faithfully. The sighting lasted about five minutes. Only one testimony was collected, but the three videos allowed a thorough analysis.

The GEIPAN examined the hypothesis of sky lanterns. The videos show circular objects, and their similar look and synchronised movement may have given the impression of a single object. Red is possible, although orange is more common, and smartphones render colours poorly. Their slow, grouped drift matches lanterns carried by the wind: weather data show a light south-easterly wind of roughly 10 to 27 km/h, consistent with the described path. Five minutes fits the lifespan of a lantern, which does not exceed 20 minutes. Against a black sky the strong brightness is plausible and suggests some proximity. The evening was a Saturday, a typical time for group releases at a celebration, which would explain the "waves", though the event itself was not found. The first light, flickering and then vanishing quickly, matches a lantern running out of fuel. The case is classified A: observation of sky lanterns.