LOUPIAN (34) 28.09.2015

At 05:26 on 28 September 2015, a witness outdoors in Loupian (34) saw a red triangular form travel silently for 5 seconds in a straight line parallel to the horizon, then disappear abruptly into the open sky. Each of its 3 corners was a bright red circle, with the apparent body dimmer than the corners. Only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN suggested the triangular outline might be an illusory contour joining 3 real lights. CalSky listed 2 visible orbiting objects near the northeastern horizon in the viewing direction: USA 16/NOSS 1-7A and Lacrosse 5 Rocket. A third, NOSS 6 (D), followed the same path 10 minutes later. The observation therefore could not be directly matched to all 3 unless the CalSky model was inaccurate. Red colour would be unusual, although GEIPAN considered it possible at low elevation through a thick atmospheric path. Sky lanterns drifting south in the light northerly wind recorded by Météociel were another possibility, but Monday morning was an unlikely time. GEIPAN assessed the phenomenon as low in strangeness and classified it C because information was insufficient to confirm or rule out these explanations.