POMPIGNAN (82) 17.11.2016

Around 22:00 on Thursday 17 November 2016, 2 people in Pompignan (82) watched a green streak in a cloudy night sky for a prolonged period. One took several photographs, and both submitted accounts. GEIPAN identified laser light from an installation by international artist Yvette Mattern in Toulouse. The giant laser display on the roof of the Quai des Savoirs on allées Jules-Guesde ran from 18 to 20 November, with tests beginning earlier. The actu.cotetoulouse website reported surprised witnesses on 16 November at comparable distances describing similar lights. The organiser confirmed tests as early as 15 November. A GEIPAN witness also saw it in the LAPEYROUSE-FOSSAT (31), 15 November 2016 case. The present account and photographs matched that appearance, particularly the green streak. The witnesses gave azimuth 134°, while the Quai des Savoirs lay 25 km away at 155°. GEIPAN found this compatible, allowing for smartphone-compass imprecision and the fact that the spot on cloud could be more than 10 km from the laser source. It classified the case A: laser.