An account in Pyr�n�es-Atlantiques, France

On February 10, 2015, many witnesses located throughout the South of France, from the Pyrénées-Atlantiques to the Hérault, observed a very bright luminous ball crossing part of the sky. This phenomenon was also observed in Spain, from the Basque Country to Catalonia. The automatic camera of the CNES in Toulouse did record this phenomenon at 7:22 PM. The GEIPAN received 3 formal testimonies (see summary table), La Dépêche du Midi and the Ciel des Hommes website received more than 80 testimonies. A reconstruction of the trajectory in 3 dimensions is underway thanks to the other cameras (Pic du Midi, Spain) that recorded the phenomenon. This luminous phenomenon, called a bolide, is produced by the entry into the atmosphere of a "large" meteoroid ("pebble" of more than 100g, that is, a few centimeters to 1m). This phenomenon occurs between 100 and 40 km of altitude through the heating and ionization of the upper layers of the atmosphere. The color can vary (green, white, yellow) depending on the angle of incidence of the meteoroid; debris can reach the ground, then called meteorites. The high altitude of the phenomenon explains that it could be observed within a radius of more than 200 km. Its strong luminosity often makes people wrongly believe it is a very close phenomenon. It often causes strong illusions of proximity while the phenomenon actually occurs at high altitude (starting around 100km and ending around 20km). One can note a fairly significant variability in the time of observation of the phenomenon (from 7:15 PM to 7:40 PM), fairly common in this kind of phenomenon observed by many witnesses. The trajectory of the phenomenon and its speed are characteristic of the entry of a natural meteoroid. The GEIPAN classifies this case "A": observation of a bolide, caused by the entry into the atmosphere of a small body of astronomical origin.