Peronne (80) July 16, 2015

Summary

On the evening of July 16, 2015, a witness in Peronne, in the Somme region, observed a large light in the night sky. They described an orange fireball moving silently, skimming the treetops nearby. Its trajectory was straight before it slowly disappeared on the horizon. Earlier, the witness's partner had managed to take a photograph, which was included in the gendarmerie report. Although only one testimony was collected, the object's characteristics—its color and trajectory—aligned with those of a Thai lantern. Additionally, the movement of the object matched the wind direction recorded in the area. Although the witness claimed it didn't look like a lantern they had seen before, these can appear differently depending on altitude and flight phase. As a result, the GEIPAN classified the case as B: Thai lantern.