SAINT-BONNET-DU-GARD (30) 17.01.2014

On 17 January 2014 at 19:05, a motorist on the D 6036 towards Saint-Bonnet-du-Gard (30) was surprised by an intense light from a white ball with a trailing streak, crossing the sky for a few seconds. The narrative prints the year as “20147”; the case title gives 2014. No unusual sound was heard. No other account for this case was reported to GEIPAN. This very bright phenomenon was observed simultaneously across much of eastern France, especially the northeast (Alsace, Lorraine and the Vosges), by numerous witnesses and at least 4 automated cameras, at Chaligny, Bollwiller, Le Val-d'Ajol and the Paris Observatory; see the attachments. All the witnesses described its east-to-west trajectory clearly. As often happens, they had the impression it was very close, although these fireballs occur at altitudes ranging from 100 km down to 40 or 30 km. GEIPAN finds its characteristics, including its duration and westward trajectory, consistent with a meteoroid entering the atmosphere: a small rocky body probably originating in the asteroid belt. Recordings by BOAM network cameras in northeastern France established the following fireball parameters, reported by AllSkyCamFrance: The unified trajectory produced by UFOorbit software resembles the northernmost trajectory, from Verdun to Reims. Vg (speed): 14 km/s; duration: 6.1 s; maximum magnitude as seen from Chaligny: -7; absolute magnitude: -5.5. Start: altitude 87 km, latitude 49.08°N, longitude 5.49°E. End: altitude 38 km, latitude 49.20°N, longitude 4.09°E. Inclination: 25°; distance travelled: 115 km. The fireball appeared to the witness in the north to northeast, at a calculated elevation above the horizon of approximately 5° to 2°, allowing for the Earth's curvature. This matches the witness's drawing well. GEIPAN classifies the case A: observation of a meteoroid entering the atmosphere. It may have been large enough to produce a meteorite on the ground in western France.