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Sighting in Erquy, April 20, 2016

Côtes-d'Armor, Bretagne, France

Sighting on April 20, 2016 in Erquy (Côtes-d'Armor, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was a meteor or fireball (class A).

What happened

At about 2:50 in the morning, a motorist driving along the D786 before La Couture was startled by a flash in a clear night sky. The witness then saw a large white trail with green material at its tip. The object moved toward the sea, and the sighting lasted three seconds. No other witness account was gathered locally.

The investigation confirmed what the witness had themselves suspected: it was a meteor. The same event was reported from several places in Normandy and from Paris, as the website of the IMO (International Meteor Organization) shows. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as A, an identified observation of a meteor.

Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.

Date
April 20, 2016
Location
Erquy · town centre
Type of sighting
From the ground
Source classification
A
Explanation
Meteors and fireballs

Sources

Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.