PONTARLIER (25) 22.06.2021

At 17:25 on 22 June 2021, 2 witnesses on a terrace in Pontarlier (25) saw a very bright object moving silently through the sky. One photographed it. It climbed, changed direction and disappeared while moving rapidly above the clouds. Only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN found the photographs suggestive of a novelty balloon, referring to balloon material in its “What did I see?” section and the Méprises du ciel article on novelty balloons. The witness himself had initially thought of a weather balloon. He described a very bright silvery cylindrical UAP moving vertically and changing direction. GEIPAN explains that vertical travel fitted such a balloon, while changing winds aloft could account for the turn. With little residual strangeness, it decided against a more detailed wind study. The case was classified B: a helium-filled novelty or Mylar balloon.