Dordogne, France · 2018-01-18 · from the GEIPAN archive
On Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 6:27 PM, two witnesses are intrigued by the movement in the sky of a rounded shape of very intense ember-orange color that suddenly changes direction. No noise is heard during the observations. Witness 1 takes a photograph. The round shape, the bright orange color, and the movement mostly from West to East consistent with the recorded wind (see the Infoclimat website) are all elements that make the flight of a Thai lantern a hypothesis of good probability. Lanterns are rather launched on weekends, but a festive event can also take place on a Thursday evening (birthday). It is noted that the weather was rainy but had cleared an hour earlier. The movement observed by Witness 1 between due West at 50° elevation and East at 30° elevation corresponds to a movement of the UAP of 250 to 500 m depending on whether its flight altitude is 100 to 200 m (typical case of a Thai lantern); these movement values are compatible with a measured wind of around 20 km/h and an observation duration reported at around one minute. Witness 1 indicates a non-uniform glow with additional glows below or above. This reflects that he sees the UAP fairly closely. Indeed, he gives it the angular size of an airplane while he is 12 km from an airport. A lantern seen at 100 m has an angular size equivalent to that of the Moon and shows non-uniform colors; its color can vary depending on the viewing angle. Witness 2 for their part only notes the bright orange. The photograph does not provide any indication. The witnesses indicate a straight trajectory followed by a turn whose amplitude and direction are difficult to assess. It is Witness 1 who is best placed to assess it because it seems that the UAP passed close to the vertical; the heading changes from SE to E. For Witness 2, the impression seems to be an inflection toward the South. In any case, one is near a river, a situation favorable to changes or local wind currents. GEIPAN classifies the case as B: probable observation of a Thai lantern.
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This is an official case file of GEIPAN, the French space agency's unidentified aerospace phenomena office, machine translated from French. The original text and the full investigation file are at geipan.fr. We reproduce it with thanks and remove anything on request.
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