Russian launcher debris seen over France in 2008

Summary

On September 25, 2008, at 11 p.m., hundreds of witnesses in southern Brittany and southern France observed a spectacular luminous phenomenon crossing the sky from northeast to southwest. Many contacted the GEIPAN by phone, email, or through questionnaires, and some filed statements with the gendarmerie. Witnesses described a very bright object, though accounts varied in shape, color, and estimated distance. Despite these differences, the simultaneity and some common features—such as fragmentation into more than ten elements—suggested a single event. The variability in descriptions was explained by the observers' different perspectives and distances. Ultimately, it was confirmed that the phenomenon was the atmospheric re-entry of a third stage of a Russian Proton rocket, which explained its direction and duration.