Red lights over Strasbourg on Saint Nicholas' Eve

Summary

On the evening of December 6, 2008, a witness in Strasbourg saw three red luminous points moving silently in a straight line from northwest to southeast. They managed to take three photos before the objects disappeared behind a building, then spotted a fourth object with the same characteristics. The observation lasted about fifteen minutes. The slow speed, straight trajectory, and colour matched Chinese sky lanterns drifting with the wind. Since the date fell on Saint Nicholas' Eve—a major celebration in Alsace—a confusion with festive lanterns was deemed very likely. GEIPAN classified the case as B.