Sighting in Tarbes, June 3, 2009
Hautes-Pyrénées, Occitanie, France
Sighting on June 3, 2009 in Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was an identified cause of another kind (class A).
What happened
The witness saw an object fall, strike a fir tree and then roll along the ground. It measured 4.5 by 7.5 centimetres and weighed roughly 300 grams. The witness assumed it was a piece of a meteorite. No one else saw the event, and no impact mark was found at the spot the witness had pointed out as the place where it fell.
The object was examined by a mineralogy expert attached to the laboratory studying transfer mechanisms in geology at the OMP Toulouse. The analysis positively identified it as hematite, commonly known as iron ore, and in no way a celestial body. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as A: it was a falling stone.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- June 3, 2009
- Location
- Tarbes · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Other explanations
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2009-06-02368
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.