Bright ball with trail seen across France

Summary

On August 1, 1996, dozens of witnesses spread from Cantal to Alsace observed a very bright white ball with a yellow and green trail. The phenomenon lasted about thirty seconds and was seen between 9:30 and 9:45 PM, moving northwest. The uniformity of descriptions indicates it was widely visible across much of France.

GEIPAN classified the case as B, with a probable explanation. The most plausible hypothesis points to an object entering Earth's atmosphere — a type of event that, while spectacular, falls within known natural phenomena.