Sighting in Paris, April 5, 1980

The witness saw a bright white sphere in the sky over Paris. It seemed almost motionless for about two seconds, then moved in a straight line and left a trail behind it. The whole sighting lasted only a few seconds. The witness gave an elevation angle for where the phenomenon started, but the description remains brief.

Another witness, who saw a bright white ball at Le Chesnay about an hour later, talked about it to people nearby. The Paris witness then described their own sighting, made a little earlier. Both were interviewed by the gendarmerie, and the GEIPAN opened two separate cases. The two witnesses had spoken to each other before giving their statements, which probably led them to link two different observations.

After re-examining the case, the GEIPAN concluded that it was a very probable meteoroid re-entry and classified it A. The spherical shape, white colour, brightness, trail, short duration and straight path all fit a fireball. The initial apparent immobility is found in some fireball sightings, just before the trail forms. The two phenomena were most likely two separate re-entries about an hour apart over the Paris region. The lack of any other recording in 1980 is not decisive.