Romans-sur-Isère 2015, Luminous Balls on New Year's Eve

Summary

On January 1, 2015, at 4:25 AM, a witness in Romans-sur-Isère (Drôme) observed about twenty luminous balls in the sky. These moved silently and without noise. Although only one testimony was collected, the description of orange lights crossing the sky quickly on a festive night immediately suggested traditional Thai lanterns. These are common at private celebrations, especially on New Year’s Eve. Additionally, the movement of the lights from north to south matched the wind direction recorded in the area. The GEIPAN classified the case as "B", indicating a very likely observation of Thai lanterns. The witness's recordings confirmed this hypothesis. The first observation could also correspond to a less common festive object, but also carried by the wind.