Bright ball seen in France in 1996

Summary

On August 1, 1996, dozens of witnesses in France observed a very bright white ball with a yellow and green trail. The phenomenon, which lasted about thirty seconds, was seen from the Cantal to Alsace. Although the reported times vary slightly, the observation occurred between 21:30 and 21:45, with the object moving toward the northwest. The uniform description of the phenomenon suggests it was widely visible.

GEIPAN researchers classified the case as "B," indicating a likely explanation. Although other hypotheses are not ruled out, the most plausible explanation is that it was an object entering Earth's atmosphere. This type of phenomenon, while unusual, can be explained with current scientific knowledge.