pfenniger@obs.unige.ch (11/09/90)
A spectacular event occurred on Nov. 5, around 18h UT (19h local time) over a large part of western Europe. Something similar to a big meteorite or satellite atmospheric reentry has been observed by thousands of people, going from western France, Switzerland, northern Italy, and south Germany, well over 1000 km. Most of the people have seen a series of yellow, red 'stars' running parallel, a luminous tail, and do not have heard any bang. The reported time to cross the sky varies wildy, from minutes to a few seconds. The estimated luminosity is comparable to the full moon. Most of the air traffic radars do not have detected anything, indicating a high altitude (~100km). Could someone with connection to NASA, NORAD tells if the satellite hypothesis can be rejected ? Such a large orbiting object should have been tracked. I ask this to the net, because we get hundred of phone calls for more precise information, by anguished people and journalists. Daniel Pfenniger, Geneva Observatory (University of Geneva)