Sighting in Marseille, March 21, 2014
Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Sighting on March 21, 2014 in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône, France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably a sky lantern (class B).
What happened
At about 9 p.m., a witness watched three yellow-orange points of light for two to three minutes. They were evenly spaced and moved silently in a straight line from east to west. At the end they seemed to speed up suddenly, then vanished.
The GEIPAN investigation found that this description closely matched Thai lanterns: evenly spaced yellow-orange lights crossing the sky within a few minutes on a weekend evening, probably released nearby after a private party. The direction of travel was consistent with the southerly wind turning towards the west recorded at Marignane that day. The apparent acceleration and disappearance were most likely the witness's interpretation of the rapid drop in brightness before the lantern's burner went out. The case was classified B: probable sighting of Thai lanterns.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- March 21, 2014
- Location
- Marseille · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
- Explanation
- Sky lanterns
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2014-03-09137
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.