Sighting in Saint-Gaudens, September 18, 2014

The witness noticed an orange-colored ball in the sky. They first took it for a planet, but then saw that it was moving, from east to west and without making any sound. They filmed it with a video, and the object then vanished, following a vertical path.

The investigation concluded that an orange ball crossing the sky over a few minutes on a weekend night strongly suggests a Thai lantern, most likely released nearby at the end of a private party. Meteociel data showed a light south-easterly wind, consistent with the movement observed. The photos the witness took leave no doubt about the nature of the object, particularly two of them; the others are blurred, either out of focus or from camera shake. The witness, however, rejected this explanation. GEIPAN classified the case as A: observation of a Thai lantern.