APT-SAINT-CHRISTOL 1980, Luminous balls in a stormy night

Summary

On the night of September 20 to 21, 1980, several military witnesses in the Vaucluse region repeatedly observed luminous balls moving with changing trajectories, disappearing and reappearing suddenly. The sky was heavily overcast and the weather was very stormy. Although the investigation did not officially confirm it, it is considered plausible that the observed flashes were reflections of car headlights in the darkness and low clouds. That same night, an automobile race was taking place on the nearby slopes of Mount Ventoux. The various trajectories and the successive appearances and disappearances of the lights could be explained by the topography of the race track.