Green luminous ball in Beaumont-sur-Sarthe

Summary

On the night of January 24, 2016, a man observed a green glowing ball that stopped among the trees around midnight. Curious, he called his partner and both went out to observe the phenomenon. The ball moved silently over a soccer field, made a quick back-and-forth motion, and split into four smaller balls. These disappeared behind a hedge and reappeared in front before vanishing towards the northwest. There were no other witnesses, and one of them filed a report with the gendarmerie. Although the possibility of a laser projector from a nearby nightclub and wind turbines was considered, no other testimonies were found. Investigators concluded the phenomenon could be explained by a recreational laser manipulated by a neighbor. Despite on-site checks, the exact source of the laser could not be identified. The GEIPAN classified the case as B: recreational laser.