An account in Calvados, France

On Sunday, May 3, 2015 at 1:30 in the morning, a witness observes the silent passage of three very bright bright-orange balls in the night sky. The witness has time to go get a camera to film the observation but will be disappointed by the quality of the video and will not provide it to GEIPAN. No other testimony will be collected. The observation of orange balls crossing the sky in a few minutes, on a weekend night, first suggests Thai lanterns, probably released nearby at the end of a private party. The movement is observed from East to West, which matches poorly with the slight South wind recorded in Caen (6 km), while the terrain cannot explain such a strong change in direction at only 6 km. The weather report late in the evening, in Caen, indicates a sustained Southeast wind with rain (see the Météociel report). The rain made the atmosphere very clear (see the horizontal visibility indicator at 55 km), and thus could have made the lanterns appear brighter. At the time of the observation there is a weak South wind (see the Météociel report). The movement of Thai lanterns follows the local wind: it is very steady if the wind is established and if the terrain is flat, more agitated if the area is subject to convection from various sources. The witness is disappointed by the quality of the video: the brightness remains low, which proves that the objects were not that bright; the witness, in complete darkness, under overcast skies, perceived the lights as very vivid. The video shows the balls as whiter, due to the automatic white balance effect; the diamond shape corresponds to a defocused (blurry) image, the diamond is in fact the shape of the camera's aperture. Due to the wind being incompatible with the observed movement, GEIPAN cannot confirm the Thai lantern hypothesis. This case is classified as C due to lack of information (video, other witness) and cross-checks.