Sighting in Chars, January 19, 2009
Val-d'Oise, Île-de-France, France
Sighting on January 19, 2009 in Chars (Val-d'Oise, France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably a meteor or fireball (class B).
What happened
In the early evening, a witness noticed a pale yellow glow moving across the sky. It then broke up into several distinct yellow and red lights, and the phenomenon quickly went out. The whole observation lasted between 10 and 15 seconds.
According to GEIPAN, the characteristics the witness reported leave little doubt about the nature of the phenomenon. This matches the witness's own second thought: a bolide, most likely caused by a meteoroid or a piece of space debris falling. The case was classified B, a probable bolide sighting.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- January 19, 2009
- Location
- Chars · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
- Explanation
- Meteors and fireballs
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2009-01-02353
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.