Descending white ball over Annonay

Summary

Around 19:30 on 1 December 2004, a witness in Annonay saw a very bright white ball descending at high speed. Just before reaching the ground it turned into a small red dot and vanished. A second witness, a former military member, also observed the phenomenon and compared it to a flare. Neither could pinpoint its origin, but investigators concluded it was most likely an atmospheric entry—a meteorite or a satellite fragment re-entering the atmosphere.