Sighting in La Rochelle, December 12, 2012
Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Sighting on December 12, 2012 in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime, France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably a meteor or fireball (class B).
What happened
A witness saw a bright light move silently across the sky for about ten seconds, at around 8:10 p.m. The light was very intense and blue.
The account closely matches a large fireball, meaning a brief, powerful flash of light produced when a meteoroid (asteroid) or a piece of satellite debris enters the atmosphere. The date falls very close to the peak of the Geminid meteor shower. The BOAM reports that many events of this kind are recorded at this time of year, though not at this hour.
The GEIPAN classified the case as B: a probable fireball, most likely from the Geminid shower.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- December 12, 2012
- Location
- La Rochelle · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
- Explanation
- Meteors and fireballs
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2012-12-08429
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.