Sighting in Sainte-Luce, February 15, 2013

The witness saw a fire-coloured luminous phenomenon moving slowly across the sky at about 6 p.m. local time in Martinique. It lasted roughly half an hour. They heard no particular sound and had time to take two photographs.

Many other people in Martinique shared the sighting. They were paying close attention to the sky because the asteroid 2012DA14 was passing by and a bolide had fallen in the Urals that same morning. The event was covered in a report on the ATV channel.

The investigation concluded that it was an aircraft condensation trail. At sunset or sunrise, such trails are often orange, very bright and strongly contrasted against the dim twilight sky. Certain weather conditions, especially near the tropics, make them look spectacular. GEIPAN classified the case as A (identified).