PERONNE (80) 16.07.2015

On Thursday 16 July at about 23:00, a woman in her garden saw a large glow in the night sky. She described an orange ball of fire moving silently just above nearby treetops, following a straight line and slowly disappearing at the horizon. Before it vanished, her partner took a photograph, a scanned copy of which was attached to the gendarmerie report. Only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN considers the colour and path characteristic of a sky lantern. Its movement matches the east-to-west wind measured a few kilometres away (see Infoclimat). The witness said it differed from a lantern she had previously seen, but GEIPAN explains that lantern appearance varies with colour, height and flight phase. The case is classified B: sky lantern.