A bright fireball streaked across the skies of four U.S. states at 11 PM on November 9, likely a Starlink satellite from SpaceX.
(Video: Space).
The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 36 different reports as the fireball passed over the states of Colorado, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. Observations were primarily centered around Oklahoma City and the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.
According to astronomer and space vehicle tracker Jonathan McDowell from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, this object is likely a Starlink satellite from SpaceX burning up in Earth’s atmosphere upon re-entry. The satellite in question is thought to be Starlink-4682, part of a batch of 54 satellites launched into orbit in 2022 during the Starlink 4-23 mission.
Witness reports submitted to AMS described the fireball as quite impressive. “This was the most amazing sight I’ve ever seen,” wrote Kevin W., an observer from McKinney, Texas.
Others noted that the fireball appeared to break apart into smaller, glowing fragments in the sky. “It was a fragmented fireball. I saw it as a bright area, then it became clearer, like a large fireball breaking apart,” stated Ryan T. from Kaufman, Texas.
The fireball streaking through the sky in the U.S. is likely a Starlink satellite.
As more and more Starlink satellites are re-entering the atmosphere and SpaceX continues to launch them weekly, some astronomers and environmental scientists suggest that the impact of these re-entries is not well understood and could potentially harm Earth’s atmosphere.
When burning up in the atmosphere, these satellites release harmful aluminum oxide, adversely affecting the protective ozone layer and altering the Earth’s light reflection capability. Both factors contribute to changes in the temperature of the upper atmosphere. “If no action is taken, we will see global impacts within the next ten years,” remarked Minkwan Kim, an associate professor of astronomy at the University of Southampton, UK.
Such re-entries sometimes create visible fireballs from the ground, but most satellites fall unnoticed. McDowell noted that nearly every day, a Starlink satellite re-enters the atmosphere, with several satellites sometimes falling at once.
