BRIENNE-SUR-AISNE (08) 31.10.2025

On 31 October 2025 at 22:01, a witness walking his dog along a canal near home in Brienne-sur-Aisne (08) saw a luminous sphere with a halo of sparks and a long bright trail for 3–5 seconds. Bright white-to-gold, it moved rapidly and silently along a curved path from northeast to northwest at about 45° elevation, without a reported change in course or brightness. He estimated its length as 3 cm at arm’s length. It abruptly disappeared, seeming to go out or recede rapidly, without residual light. He thought of a “large meteorite” and said that, if so, others must have seen it. The case has moderate evidential substance*: one witness and no photograph or video. The only hypothesis examined, a fireball, fits the spherical shape, white/gold colour, strong brightness, rapid curved path and duration under 5 seconds. Neither GEIPAN nor IMO/AMS received another witness report. However, FRIPON automated cameras recorded two events at exactly 21:01 UTC, 22:01 local time, one from Libin in Belgium and one from Oostkapelle in the Netherlands (Appendix 1). Their viewing directions, especially Oostkapelle’s, agree with the witness’s. GEIPAN attributes differences to the brief observation and difficulty estimating the path (Appendix 2). Classification A: atmospheric entry of a fireball. *Evidential substance is the amount of information collected for an account considered reliable and objectively substantiated. AMS: American Meteor Society. IMO: International Meteor Organization; the source gives an erroneous “Météo” expansion. FRIPON: Fireball Recovery and InterPlanetary Observation Network.