Atmospheric reentry in France 2012

Summary

During the night of September 21 to 22, 2012, several pilots and a ground witness observed a slow-moving luminous phenomenon in northern France. Testimonies consistently described the object as emitting blue or fluorescent green light, with no radar echoes or flight instrument anomalies reported. A ground observer described a glowing ball with a descending trail, while witnesses in England reported movement from east to west, slower than a typical fireball.

Meteor expert Jérémie Vaubaillon suggested the object might be a temporarily Earth-captured asteroid. Given the viewing angle and estimated altitude—between 100 and 60 km—it was concluded that all witnesses observed the same event. The GEIPAN classified it as "A," meaning a fireball and meteorite entry observation.