An account in Alpes-Maritimes, France

On September 5 or 6, 2008, between 10:30 PM and 11:00 PM, several people observed movements of luminous phenomena in the sky in the direction of the Col de Braus. One testimony (imprecise about the day's date) reports the successive appearances of glowing balls of colors, some of which seemed to rotate around each other. Two other balls moved parallel to each other and at high speed. No particular noise was heard during the observation. This observation is the succession of 3 phenomena that we estimate to be independent: a luminous point on the western horizon, orange in color, disappearing slowly after 30 minutes: one might think of the star Arcturus at its setting (see star charts at 10:30 PM and 11:00 PM), very bright, close to the direction indicated by the observer. White glowing balls moving in a disorderly manner against the cloudy background: this description corresponds exactly to the appearance of a disco laser, although the observer does not see the ascending beam (this is always the case, except in very humid atmosphere). Finally, the very fast straight-line passage of two luminous points: this phenomenon clearly suggests the atmospheric re-entry of a meteoroid (fragmented meteorite) or of space debris. Given the uncertainty about the date, and the lack of evidence for these hypotheses, GEIPAN currently classifies this case, which is not very strange, as "C" due to lack of information. The strangeness of the case comes mainly from the succession of these three phenomena.