Sighting in Sainte-Hélène, January 11, 2022

Early in the morning, a witness was walking their dog and looked up at the sky. It was clear, though fog about 100 m deep lay over the ground. Suddenly the witness saw a bright yellowish glow falling along a northwest-to-southeast line. They stopped to watch it. The phenomenon lasted about 2 seconds and then vanished abruptly. The witness first thought of a meteorite, but noticed no trail, unlike the ones they had seen before.

The case rested on a single witness and there was no photograph, so its consistency was rated as medium. According to GEIPAN, the shape, duration and apparent speed described strongly match a fireball. In addition, the FRIPON network detected a fireball from Dax (40) at the time of the sighting, in a direction matching that of the phenomenon. The strangeness perceived came from the lack of a visible luminous trail. However, some fireballs can be seen without a trail, depending on observing conditions, and the fog may also have hidden a faint trail. The case was classified A: observation of a fireball.