Fireball flashes across Idaho sky

Preliminary reports indicate that a large fireball seen racing across the sky over North Idaho last night was debris from a Chinese rocket that launched a satellite in December. 

Brandon Stone told The Press that around 9:55 Monday he witnessed “an event in the sky that looked much like the Shuttle Columbia disaster when it exploded on re-entry.”

 “I ran outside to see a cluster (some large, some small) of something streaking steadily though the sky heading north.  It was breaking apart/expanding slowly as it flew, kind of like the Shuttle Columbia disaster footage.”

Similar observations were reported throughout Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Colorado, California and Canada. 

The American Meteor Society - a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to researching meteors - received 145 calls about the event. On its website, the society stated that this description is typical for what it looks like when space junk re-enters earth’s atmosphere:

 “As the satellite breaks apart in the atmosphere each nut, bolt or fragment of glass or metal will create a mini fireball. These objects generally travel much slower than fireballs and cover wider distances. Most of the witnesses reported the event lasting up to 45 seconds, where as a normal fireball would last 3-5 seconds. The long duration time, witness descriptions and long distance of travel suggest this object was some type of space trash.”

According to AMS, NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office identified the object as the re-entry of a Chinese rocket body. Info about the satellite and rocket can be found here: www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/12/chinese-long-march-4b-yaogan-26/