Haute-Savoie, France · 2012-12-17 · from the GEIPAN archive
On December 17, 2012 at 11:30 PM, a witness suddenly sees from his home the sky light up in a deep blue for 3 seconds. This testimony is very brief; the witness only saw a powerful glow indirectly. The color and duration of the phenomenon are compatible with a fireball (atmospheric entry of a meteoroid (meteorite)) likely linked to the Geminid meteor shower, which was particularly notable this year (see One could also think of a flash of electrical origin (electric welding unit, major short circuit on a power line), however the witness does not report the usual flickering of electrical flashes but a complete illumination of the sky (which was overcast), which corresponds well to a high-altitude phenomenon. This case is classified "B": probable observation of a fireball.
What stood out: an orange orb
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the accounts read alike, found by meaning rather than by shared details
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This is an official case file of GEIPAN, the French space agency's unidentified aerospace phenomena office, machine translated from French. The original text and the full investigation file are at geipan.fr. We reproduce it with thanks and remove anything on request.
Anomaly