Seattle night skies lit up with Falcon 9 rocket debris
Siliguri, India: People in the Pacific Northwest region were treated to a spectacular meteor shower Thursday night, as a sparkling streak of light splattered in the sky to the surprise of the sky-lookers.
It was being widely perceived to be a meteor shower but was later confirmed by National Weather Service in Seattle that it was in reality the unburnt stage of Space X's Falcon 9 rocket which blasted off from Washington earlier this week to deliver Starlink satellites into orbit.
DID YOU SEE THIS? I have never in my life seen something so incredible. I am in awe. Just happened over Portland about 10 minutes ago. #LiveOnK2 pic.twitter.com/L9wLEXBrcW
— Genevieve Reaume (@GenevieveReaume) March 26, 2021
"While we await further confirmation on the details, here's the unofficial information we have so far. The widely reported bright objects in the sky were the debris from a Falcon 9 rocket 2nd stage that did not successfully have a deorbit burn," Seattle's weather agency said in a tweet.
Based on the observed video, this looks more likely than a bolide meteor or similar object as they would be moving far faster on impact with our atmosphere. There are NO expected impacts on the ground in our region at this time. More info will be posted as it becomes available.
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) March 26, 2021
"Based on the observed video, this looks more likely than a bolide meteor or similar object as they would be moving far faster on impact with our atmosphere," the weather agency added.
A Harvard astronomer named Jonathan McDowell whom Forbes has described as a 'leading tracker of just about everything happening in orbit' identified the phenomenon as the remains of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that sent 60 of the company’s Starlink satellites to orbit on March 4.