Sighting in Maubourguet, August 22, 2009

At about 9:30 pm, several people watched a glowing orange ball pass across the sky. It followed a straight path from west to east, and no sound was heard throughout the sighting. At one point the ball stopped, then vanished at very high speed toward the south. Two other witnesses later sent their accounts to the GEIPAN by email.

The investigation noted that the sighting matched the features of a Thai lantern: the orange color, a drift consistent with the wind (light, variable, mostly from the west), and a local festival taking place nearby, the Rencontres de Maubourguet. The object's apparent stillness can be explained by it moving toward the observers, and its disappearance corresponds to the flame going out. The GEIPAN classified the case as B: probable sighting of a Thai lantern.