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Sighting in Vieu, June 20, 2015

Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Sighting on June 20, 2015 in Vieu (Ain, France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably a sky lantern (class B).

What happened

At around 11 p.m., a driver noticed three orange-red points of light in the sky. They moved silently and slowly from north to south and stayed in view for several minutes. At the same moment, a very bright green light crossed the sky very quickly from east to west. The witness naturally connected the two phenomena.

The investigation showed that they were two separate events that happened to coincide. The orange-red lights had all the characteristics of Thai lanterns, which are often seen on summer Saturday evenings, when they are released at the end of weddings or other celebrations. Their drift southward matched the north wind recorded at Lyon-Saint-Exupéry. The green light had all the characteristics of a fireball: several witnesses saw it at the same time in the Ain, Saône-et-Loire, Nièvre and Rhône areas. The BOAM camera network did not record it, probably because of cloud cover over the cameras.

GEIPAN classed the case as B: a probable sighting of Thai lanterns, occurring at the same time as a fireball.

Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.

Date
June 20, 2015
Location
Vieu · town centre
Type of sighting
From the ground
Source classification
B
Explanation
Sky lanterns

Sources

Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.