Sighting in Ribérac, March 13, 2012
Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Sighting on March 13, 2012 in Ribérac (Dordogne, France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably a meteor or fireball (class B).
What happened
A witness saw five points of light cross the sky quickly at 8:35 p.m. They moved together in formation along a downward path. No sound was heard during the sighting.
A second account, made at almost the same moment and describing something very similar, was reported to GEIPAN. It came from someone at Saint-Mathieu-de-Tréviers (34) the same evening, who had been looking toward the west. The two sightings were very probably of the same phenomenon.
GEIPAN considered the atmospheric re-entry of a meteoroid (meteorite) or of space debris to be the most likely explanation. The case was classified B: probable observation of an atmospheric re-entry of meteoroids.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- March 13, 2012
- Location
- Ribérac · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
- Explanation
- Meteors and fireballs
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2012-03-08203
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.