Sighting in Mulhouse, December 25, 2014

At 12:45 a.m., a witness looking out through windows saw two red lights go by, then saw the same thing happen a second time right afterwards. The lights moved from west to east, and no particular noise was heard. The witness followed them until they were lost from view in the direction of the Black Forest. No one else reported seeing the phenomenon.

GEIPAN considered that red balls crossing the sky within a few minutes on a night of celebration strongly suggested Thai lanterns, most likely released nearby at the end of a private party. The west-to-east movement matches the west wind of 11 to 24 km/h recorded at Basel-Mulhouse around 1 a.m. that day. However, the wind was very unstable during the night and changed direction several times. The case was classified B: probable sighting of Thai lanterns.