VIDEO: Mysterious falling ‘space debris’ light up the sky over California
Mysterious streaks of light are seen in the sky in the Sacramento.
Mysterious streaks of light were seen in the sky in the Sacramento area on Friday night, shocking St. Patrick’s Day revelers who then posted videos on social media of the surprising sight.
Social media users monitored luminous objects flying over California.
In one of the videos, strange lights appeared slowly spreading across the sky, according to local media.
Another clip revealed a clearer appearance of the luminous objects, while the videographer stood in amazement, shouting in disbelief at what he saw.
The sightings of the lights and what some believe to be small asteroids continued after 9:30 California time, and the objects continued to be seen for less than 45 seconds, according to witnesses.
According to the famous astronomer Jonathan McDowell, the lights many people saw were most likely space junk, and that junk was most likely Object 45265, which has been orbiting Earth as junk for the past three years.
The flaming bits of wreckage created a "spectacular light show in the sky," McDowell said. He estimated the debris was about 40 miles high, going thousands of miles per hour.
The US Space Force confirmed the re-entry path over California for the Inter-Orbit Communication System, and the timing is consistent with what people saw in the sky, he added. The Space Force could not immediately be reached Saturday with questions.
