Sighting in Toulouse, December 13, 2012
Haute-Garonne, Occitanie, France
Sighting from an aircraft on December 13, 2012 in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne, France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably the atmospheric re-entry of a space object (rocket stage, debris) (class B).
What happened
A pilot in flight saw a green phenomenon pass from east to west. It was in the direction of 030° from Toulouse. The sighting took place at 16:48 UT. The pilot estimated its altitude at between 45,000 and 60,000 ft. The description was very brief: the pilot called it a green meteorite, which suggested a meteoroid entering the atmosphere.
The investigation noted that this time of year coincides with the peak of the Geminids, whose meteors came from the north-eastern horizon at that hour. A great many observations were made on 12 and 13 December, both by automatic cameras and by observers. However, the GEIPAN received no other testimony of the event made at the same time.
The GEIPAN classified the case as B: it was probably the fall of a meteoroid.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- December 13, 2012
- Location
- Toulouse · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From an aircraft
- Source classification
- B
- Explanation
- Re-entries
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 2012-12-08374
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.