TOULON (83) 27.11.2021

On 27 November 2021 at about 13:30, a Toulon (83) resident, T1, noticed a point of light from her balcony. It was visible for no more than 2 minutes, during which she took 2 photographs, before disappearing behind a hill. Her partner, T2, also saw it but did not provide an account. GEIPAN finds low strangeness and a good amount of reliable, objectively supported information despite only 1 account, because there were 2 observers and photographs. It identifies a figure-8 party balloon made of Mylar with an aluminised coating; see the investigation report. The evidential assessment concerns the quantity of such information collected for an account. The first photograph strongly resembles a figure-8 Mylar balloon. Its grey appearance contrasted with bright reflection from the sun-facing surface, characteristic of reflective Mylar. Its trajectory and apparent speed broadly matched the wind direction and strength. Small trajectory changes could be explained by local airflow, such as wind shear or hilly terrain. It may have been released at a birthday party, as the observation was on a Saturday. The case is classified A: observation of a Mylar party balloon.