Sighting in Lamonzie-Saint-Martin, January 18, 2018

In the early evening, at about 6:27 pm, two witnesses noticed a rounded shape of a very intense ember-orange colour moving across the sky. It then suddenly changed direction. No noise was heard during the observation, which lasted about a minute. One of the witnesses took a photograph, but it provides no useful information.

The first witness described an uneven glow, with extra glimmers above or below, and an apparent size similar to that of an aircraft, even though an airport lies 12 km away. The second witness noted only the bright orange colour. The path was straight at first, then curved, but the extent and direction of the turn are hard to judge. According to the first witness, the heading shifted from south-east to east, and the object seemed to pass close to the vertical. For the second witness, it seemed to bend towards the south.

The investigation considered a Chinese-style Thai lantern a probable explanation: the round shape, bright orange colour and mainly west-to-east movement all match the recorded wind of about 20 km/h. The path described, from due west at 50° elevation to east at 30°, corresponds to 250 to 500 m travelled at a height of 100 to 200 m, which fits both that wind and the observation time. Seen from fairly close, a lantern would have an apparent size and colour variations consistent with the account. A river nearby could explain local wind changes. The weather had been rainy but cleared an hour earlier. Lanterns are usually launched at weekends, but a celebration such as a birthday could take place on a Thursday evening. GEIPAN classified the case as B.