Sighting in Carspach, November 12, 2008

At around 10:40 p.m., a motorist saw a green light follow a descending curve across the sky, trailed by a cone-shaped streak. The sighting lasted only a few seconds. The witness had done some research and suspected that what they had seen was a meteor entering the atmosphere.

Their account was judged consistent. Two other independent witnesses, found on a forum and located very far away, described the same phenomenon, and a radio recording may also corroborate it. Two of these accounts came from the Bordeaux region and matched the witness's report in time, description and trajectory. Given the distance between Bordeaux and the place of the sighting, the phenomenon could only have been at high altitude.

The investigation established that the meteor came from the "Northern" Taurid swarm, which produces fine, fairly slow-moving fireballs. That day was the swarm's peak of activity, and other observations showed it was active at that hour. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as A: atmospheric entry of a meteoroid.