‘Fireball’ Blazing Across Skies Of US & Canada Was A Failed Russian Spacecraft
Video screenshot via American Meteor Society
Earlier this week, a fireball blazed across the skies over some parts of the US and Canada. Eyewitnesses say it was seen all the way from Michigan to Tennessee.
However, it wasn’t a stray meteorite falling into the Earth’s orbit. Rather, astronomer Jonathan McDowell posited on Twitter that the sightings were of a Russian satellite, Kosmos-2551.
Turns out, he was right. It was in fact the Kosmos-2551, which had been launched on September 9 but failed to make it into orbit. The blaze lasted for almost a minute, which was another sign that the object likely wasn’t a meteorite.
According to CNET, meteors entering the Earth are usually smaller in size, leading them to burn up more quickly in the atmosphere. A satellite would be much larger, taking a longer time for them to fully disintegrate, which is why eyewitnesses saw the fireball for nearly a minute.
Despite the satellite seeming as if it was crashing into the ground, it was still quite a distance from even the tallest spectator. McDowell said that the fireball had actually been at an altitude of about 40 miles, so it wasn’t likely to hit anyone in the area.
Take a look at the satellite blazing across the sky below.
[via CNET, cover image via American Meteor Society]
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