NERAC (47) 20.07.2015

On 20 July 2015 at about 22:57, a family in Nérac (47) saw a fiery red object travel silently in a straight line across the night sky before disappearing behind a building. Only 1 account was collected. A mobile-phone video was recorded but could not be sent. The reported direction is confusing at the end of the path, and the witness seems unfamiliar with the location. GEIPAN considers that the object did come from the northeast but ended southwest rather than southeast. The reference to heading towards central Nérac places the endpoint southwest of the observation site. The descriptions of crossing the entire visible horizon from left to right from the balcony and disappearing behind the annex building on the right also support that endpoint. At 23:00, Agen-La-Garenne, 20 km to the east-northeast (written NEE in the source), recorded a light northerly wind of 6 km/h and visibility of 45 km; see Météociel. GEIPAN considers the southwestward path compatible with a northerly wind measured 20 km away. The strong brightness, red colour, movement with the wind, straight steady trajectory and silence favour a sky lantern. The summer date and holiday-village location strengthen that hypothesis: lanterns are often released during this period and on New Year's Eve, and single-lantern releases are frequently observed. GEIPAN classifies the case B: observation of a sky lantern.