Sighting in Rentree Atmospherique — National, October 21, 2011
France
Sighting on October 21, 2011 in Rentree Atmospherique — National (France). GEIPAN considers the phenomenon probably identified (class B).
What happened
On 21 October 2011, at around 8 p.m., a very large number of people in many different parts of France saw a luminous phenomenon cross the sky. They described a bright light with a green trail, moving in a straight line and lasting only a few seconds.
These descriptions fit a bolide, the phenomenon produced when a "large" meteorite, weighing more than 100 grams and ranging from a few centimetres to one metre in size, enters the upper atmosphere. The REFORME network of meteor observers recorded the same event at the same moment, give or take two minutes, and several observers in the north of France saw it too, so there is no doubt that the phenomenon was real. REFORME put its magnitude at -6, which makes it a medium-sized object.
GEIPAN classified the case as B: it was most likely the atmospheric re-entry of a meteoroid, or possibly of an unlisted piece of space debris.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- October 21, 2011
- Location
- Rentree Atmospherique — National · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2011-10-02854
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.