An account in Gers, France

Recent testimony (2016) of an old observation. On July 17, 1978 at 11:30 PM, several people in a farmyard observe above the house a perfect disc, fluorescent green, motionless. The phenomenon disappears at a dazzling speed. Only one testimony was collected. This observation, lasting 3 seconds, of a green disc disappearing at dazzling speed, has certain characteristics of a bolide (meteorite atmospheric entry). The motionlessness at the start of the observation is surprising for this hypothesis, but if the phenomenon is seen almost head-on, the witness may have the illusion of motionlessness. The apparent change in direction can also be the result of the relative geometry of the phenomenon with respect to the witness. Nevertheless, this observation is notably different from other bolide observations: no luminous trail observed. Moreover, no other observation of this type seems to have been recorded, which is surprising for a phenomenon of this type. GEIPAN received this observation report in 2016; beyond these basic checks, GEIPAN cannot conduct a more in-depth investigation. GEIPAN classifies this case "C" due to lack of information and cross-checking.