Herouville-Saint-Clair 2014, six luminous points in the sky

Summary

On November 29, 2014, a witness in Herouville-Saint-Clair observed six luminous points crossing the sky in less than 10 seconds from their balcony. The witness described the points as gray-white and noted they seemed to form a dark mass that obscured the stars. No sound was heard. Although the description resembles that of flying lanterns, the GEIPAN report points out that weather data does not allow for a precise determination of wind direction at that time. Additionally, the gray-white color is unusual compared to the typical orange balls seen in lantern sightings.

The report concludes that the dark mass could be an optical illusion known as a "contour illusion," often seen when observing groups of objects in the sky. However, due to the lack of precise wind information and the unusual color observed, the GEIPAN cannot definitively confirm this as a lantern case. For this reason, the case is classified as "C," meaning no conclusive resolution.