Sighting in Rentree Atmospherique — (reg) Nouvelle-Aquitaine, December 23, 2008

Four witnesses, in four different French départements, briefly saw a light cross the night sky. Each described a phenomenon lasting between one and a few seconds, with the visual appearance of a bolide. Three of them placed the sighting at around 10 pm, while the fourth gave 9 pm. Seven years had passed, so it was too late to contact that witness again and resolve the difference.

The azimuth and elevation data, of varying precision from one account to another, made it possible to define an overlap zone lying, in all likelihood, in northern Spain. Only one point did not fit: the direction of travel. One witness reported north to south, while the other three reported east to west. GEIPAN notes that such a mismatch is fairly common for a confirmed bolide, because a very short observation allows the position in the sky to be noted fairly well, but not the heading.

GEIPAN classified the case as B: a probable bolide sighting, that is, an atmospheric re-entry.