Red lights in Loiret, France

On May 15, 2016 at around 12:30 a.m., a witness walking his dog saw three orange lights arranged in a triangle at low altitude in the sky, motionless, emitting a bright flash every other second. The first light disappeared, the second and third rose very quickly and also disappeared. Only one testimony was collected. The passage of three orange-red balls on a weekend evening suggests a release of sky lanterns (called Chinese or Thai lanterns) following a wedding or private party (see the investigation report). The witness was looking roughly toward the south, and the objects moved from his left to his right, that is, from the northeast to the southwest; the wind was blowing toward 233° (southwest), so consistent with the direction taken by these lights (see the weather data), lights of which one rose before disappearing. The shape described is consistent with a Chinese lantern, and the color (orange then red) as well. The detail given by the witness, "bright flash every other second," fairly well reflects a flickering of flames. The fact that one of the "balls" rose toward the clouds is also consistent, since with the help of an updraft, or in the absence of wind (between houses), the lanterns can give the illusion of movement inconsistent with the prevailing wind, as attested by many videos on the internet. The fact that another ball then took the same path confirms the phenomenon of a wind current. Geipan concludes: observation of Thai lanterns.