Sighting in Pralong, July 29, 2023

Through their bathroom window, the main witness noticed an orange, trapezoid-shaped object moving horizontally. Intrigued, they went outside and told their partner. Together they spotted a second object of similar shape, higher in the sky. The witness filmed the first object for one second. Both objects then drifted away to the south-east while gaining altitude. Seen from farther away, they looked spherical and made small circular movements. The witness heard no noise. They compared the phenomenon to a flame and, several times, to a lantern, and felt no particular sense of strangeness.

GEIPAN rated the case's consistency as good: there were two witnesses, and one of them returned a technical questionnaire with a sketch and a usable video. Only one hypothesis was examined, that of sky lanterns. The colour, the trapezoid then round shape, the "feet" resembling a lantern's suspension lines, the small circular movements and the lack of noise are all characteristic. The south-eastward path matches a west-north-west wind, and the low brightness points the same way, since such releases can only take place in calm weather. The first object must have started at a short distance east of the witnesses. The two municipalities concerned knew of no lantern release that evening, but the precise description and the wind conditions support this explanation. The case was classified A: observation of sky lanterns.