CRANVES-SALES (74) 17.12.2012

On 17 December 2012 at 23:30 in Cranves-Sales (74), a witness at home suddenly saw the sky turn deep blue for 3 seconds. The very brief account describes only an indirectly seen strong glow. GEIPAN considers the colour and duration compatible with a fireball caused by a meteoroid entering the atmosphere—the source also calls it a meteorite—probably associated with that year's particularly noticeable Geminid shower; it cites http://clubregulus.free.fr/geminides.html. An electrical flash, from welding equipment or a major short circuit on a power line, is another possibility. However, the witness reported no characteristic electrical flickering, instead describing the entire overcast sky lighting up, which GEIPAN considers consistent with a high-altitude phenomenon. The case is classified B: probable fireball.