Sighting in Roquefort-sur-Garonne, May 27, 2022

At about 11:30 p.m., the witness was on the terrace at home when they noticed a round, reddish-orange brown object in the sky. It moved silently in a straight line at a steady speed. It first appeared toward the south, about 30° above the horizon, and the witness lost sight of it toward the north, at about 45° elevation, where trees hid it. The witness took two photos with a smartphone, one of them zoomed. They were the only witness, but the images could be analysed, which gives the case good consistency.

The investigation concluded that the object was a sky lantern, probably released during a private celebration on a Friday evening in May. The round shape, the reddish-orange colour, and the straight, steady, silent movement are all typical of a lantern. The wind, nil to very light, could have been oriented southwest/northeast, or south-southwest/north-northeast, an orientation reinforced by a local relief east of the witness. The distance calculated from one of the photos matches that of a lantern flying at low altitude. Lanterns are usually released in numbers, so this one may have been a test before a larger release the next day or on Sunday, or it may have ended up isolated because of variable winds. The witness found the sighting strange because it did not resemble images of lanterns seen online, where they are shown up close, with a visible flame and in large numbers. The GEIPAN classified the case as B: very probably a sky lantern.