Sighting in Pau, May 6, 2012

At 10:11 p.m., the witness noticed three orange glows moving across the sky along a north-south path. They looked like orange balls and drifted slowly and silently. The sighting lasted a few minutes. Two of the lights suddenly went out, while the third dropped toward the ground and was lost from view behind buildings.

GEIPAN concluded that these features strongly suggested Thai lanterns. The sighting took place about two hours after the result of the presidential election was announced, and some people may have wanted to celebrate with a lantern release. The light, unstable wind could explain why the glows arrived in the sky at different times, with a perspective effect reinforcing this impression. The brightness of the flame also makes it impossible to make out details of the object, even from about 100 metres away. It also seems that, on one of the lanterns, part of the burning paraffin block came loose and fell to the ground. The case was classified B: probable sighting of Thai lanterns.