Orange balls in the sky over Calvados

Summary

On May 3, 2015, a witness observed three very bright orange balls silently crossing the night sky. Although he managed to film the phenomenon with a camera, he did not provide the video to GEIPAN, as he was dissatisfied with the result. No other witnesses were reported, limiting the investigation. Initially, the case was thought to involve Thai lanterns released after a private party, but the movement of the lights did not match the wind direction recorded in the area.

The meteorological conditions that night showed a southeast wind and rain, which cleared the atmosphere and might have made the lights appear brighter. However, the witness perceived a brightness that was not reflected in the video. The camera recorded the lights as whiter and blurry, likely due to lack of focus and automatic white balance. GEIPAN could not confirm the lantern hypothesis due to wind incompatibility and lack of additional evidence. The case was classified as C due to insufficient information.