JARCIEU (38) 07.08.2016

Shortly before 23:00 on 7 August 2016, a witness was in the garden at home watching for shooting stars. The witness reported a very bright red-orange oval light at an estimated elevation of 45°, although also describing it as “rather low”. A second light followed. Both moved with a slow undulating motion, without sound or trails, and had an apparent size estimated as 4 cm at arm's length. The entire observation lasted at most 30 seconds. Only one account was collected, including a drawing of the path. Near the end, the lights appeared smaller and seemed to change direction toward the southwest, to the right of a house with an upper storey. The written southwest direction conflicts with the northwest direction in the drawing. GEIPAN adopts the drawing, which it considers inherently more reliable. Weather records from Saint-Étienne-Saint-Geoirs (38), about 30 km east of the observation site, show a weak southerly wind below 10 km/h from 23:00 onward (see the Météociel record). The witness was concerned at finding no other accounts, despite searching online for that night. GEIPAN finds the bright red-orange colour, lights following one another with slow undulations, and absence of sound or trails characteristic of sky lanterns. Northwestward movement is compatible with the measured northward wind, allowing for the weather station's distance. The lights becoming smaller could reflect their flames going out. A summer weekend evening also favors festive lantern releases. GEIPAN considers lanterns a highly plausible explanation consistent with the observation. It classifies the case B: observation of sky lanterns.