White light in the sky in Haute-Saône

Summary

On November 14, 2016, a driver in Haute-Saône observed a white light moving slowly across the sky for about 10 seconds. Initially thinking it might be a shooting star, he was surprised to see that it did not burn up or leave a visible trail. The witness's description matched that of a small, slow meteor coming from the east, crossing the sky toward the west or southwest. Sometimes, especially when the meteor is not very bright, no clear luminous trail or color is perceived, which can cause confusion.

The observation coincided with the radiant of the Taurid meteor shower (south and north) being near the star Aldebaran, near the east-northeast horizon. Meteors from this shower, associated with comet 2P/Encke, travel at about 29 km/s, which perfectly explains the duration of the observation. Given the description, the date, and the location, the GEIPAN concluded that this was a meteor from this group. Therefore, the case was classified as "A," meaning explained.