Unraveling the Mystery of Northern California's Sky Lights.
TL;DR
Streaks of light seen in the sky above Northern California on Friday night were identified as space junk from a 2009 launch of ICS-EF, a Japanese communications package for sending data between the ISS Kibo module and Mission Control Tsukuba via the Kodama data relay satellite. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell explained that the package was moving at about 17,000 mph and had broken into pieces about 40 miles up. While some bits could reach the ground in Yosemite, it will likely melt entirely. Trajectory tracking expected it to come in above Chico.
Topics:top-newsscience#astrophysics#ics-ef#northern-california#science#space-junk#trajectory-tracking
- What were those lights in the sky above Northern California? Experts say space junk. ABC10.com KXTV
- 'Strange lights' above the Bay, possibly a dazzling meteor shower or asteroid KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco
- Mysterious lights streak over the Northstate, explained KRCR
- Video: Bright orbs of light blaze across the Northern California sky KCRA Sacramento
- What were those lights in the sky above Northern California? Experts say space junk ABC10
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