An orange orb in Allier, France

On Saturday, September 29, 2012, two witnesses observe in the night sky the silent passage of thirty to forty luminous red-orange spheres. They appear spaced at a regular frequency and move in a straight line on the same N/S axis. They seem to group together above the forest of Château Charles in Montmarault. The witnesses decide to go to the location but they note the disappearance of the spheres. The indications given by the witnesses steer the investigation toward the observation of Thai lanterns, whose characteristics are found: orange glow, moving pushed by the wind, without noise. The description of the phenomenon matches the physics of lanterns, lit by a candle. The candle generates the hot air that allows the lantern to rise into the sky, like a hot-air balloon. Seen by the witness, it appears in the form of a sphere (the lantern's envelope) of orange color (the color of candlelight). With the temperature stabilized inside the lantern's envelope, and in the absence of wind gusts, it stays at a stabilized altitude. This phenomenon produces no noise. The weather situation in this region according to Météociel reports a north-south wind, 10 to 15 km/h, cloud cover 6/8, temperature 12°C, pressure 1020 hPa. These floating objects are therefore pushed from North to South, which matches the trajectory of the phenomenon, described by the witness and in the police report. However, the witness's estimate of the lanterns' speed, stated as 50 km/h, is largely overestimated. This is due to the poor estimation of the distance of an object one does not recognize. For the same angular speed (the only element perceived by a witness), an overestimation of distance produces an overestimation of speed. One can also take into account the date of Saturday evening, favorable for a festive gathering of family or friends. A wedding evening is mentioned in the police report. A successive lighting of the lanterns matches the witness's description of seeing lanterns follow the same trajectory (wind direction), spaced 20 to 25 seconds apart. As for the grouping of all these spheres above the forest in the distance, this matches a perspective effect, like train tracks that seem to meet at the horizon. Likewise, the witness's perception that the first spheres were waiting for the following ones fits within the same perspective effect. As for the disappearance, this matches the end of the candle's combustion. Deprived of its heat source, the lantern, having become invisible, falls. Consequently, GEIPAN classifies this as A: observation of Thai lanterns.