An orange orb in Territoire de Belfort, France

On December 24, 2015 at around 7:40 p.m., a witness in their garden observes a very bright orange glow, silently crossing the clear sky from East to West. The glow shrinks and disappears. Only one testimony will be collected. The indications given by the witness steer the investigation toward the observation of a lantern, of which all the characteristics are found: orange glow, moving pushed by the wind, without noise, then disappearing as it goes out. We will confirm this hypothesis: First, the witness reports contradictions in their account. They first state that the phenomenon "crossed the sky from due East to due West." Then in the detailed description of the phenomenon they indicate a "West/East" trajectory. To resolve the ambiguity, we will take into account the position of the phenomenon relative to the Moon, which they describe as "to the right and below the Moon." The ephemerides (lunar calendar) indicate a phase 1 day before the full Moon, with a rise at 3:39 p.m. (UT) on this December 24, 2015. The Moon is positioned to the East (risen for 3 hours), to the left of the witness who is observing toward the South. The position of the phenomenon to the right of the Moon (to the West when observing toward the South) leads to a West/East trajectory, which corroborates their detailed description. The weather at the Belfort-Dorans station, less than 10 km to the South, recorded on Météociel indicates "clear sky, visibility 20 km" with a "west wind of 10/20 km/h in gusts." A floating object is therefore pushed from West to East, which matches the trajectory of the phenomenon. The witness describes an orange glow with a size of 1/4 to 1/3 of the full Moon, then reducing to a bright point before disappearing by going out. Note that this is Christmas Eve night, favorable for this kind of festive display. In conclusion, GEIPAN classifies the case as B: probable observation of a Thai lantern.