Experts have recently claimed that the mysterious fireballs flashing throughout the sky in portions of the United States may have been a Russian rocket.
As specified in a report from The Sun, the celestial shower rained down on the evening of Tuesday, although some meteor experts have pointed out that the otherworldly sighting may be pieces of an ancient fuel tank.
In addition, the American Meteor Society could document 29 reports of falling fireballs that began to fly through the sky at around 10 pm.
Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Oregon residents recorded the surreal encounter. One of the residents of Montana said she thought the movement was a plane until it flashed many times and burst into pieces.
An Old Russian Rocket's Fuel Tank
An NBC Montana report specified that the white clouds and vapor trail remained visible nearly 15 minutes after. Then, the American Meteor Society received three videos and six photos of the wild occurrence.
Meanwhile, a Spaceweather.com report specified that the objects were no meteor. This may have been an old Russian rocket's fuel tank.
Before the Montana explosion, the US Department of Defense Space Track website briefly released a Trajectory Impact Prediction or TIP message for an object known as "BREEZE-M DEB (TANK.)."
The space track website forecasted that a fuel tank would fall into the atmosphere of Earth; approximately the same sightings were also reported in the US.
Revolving Around the Earth
Essentially, the fuel tank had revolved around the Earth for almost a decade, a similar Kurii007 report said.
It was part of a rocket that took off Russia's Yamal 402 geostationary communications satellite on December 8, 2012, the said website report specified.
Recent solar activity rise fast-tracked its orbital decay, finally bringing it down in a fiery exhibition. The American Meteor Society reported that Montana viewings were predominant in Bitterroot Valley, Livingston, and Park counties, Great Falls, Helena, Pray, and Lincoln.
Residents in Idaho reported sightings in Twin Falls, Shelley, Stanley, Rexburg, and Idaho Falls. There were reports as far east as Oregon, as well.
What's Causing Fireballs in the Skies?
According to NASA, fireballs had been much in the news for the past two decades because of a big one spotted in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan areas one midnight in March 2003.
The fireball streaked through the sky and blasted in a bright flash. However, what caused the fireballs and how frequently they took place was a mystery.
Fireballs are indeed just large meteors, the result of meteoroids that fall into the atmosphere of Earth and burn up.
Moreover, the rock that caused the so-called "Chicago Fireball" in 2003 was possibly a small space rock roughly one or two meters in width.
As it fell into the atmosphere, the gigantic fireball heated up and ultimately broke into approximately 500 fragments. Such fragments fell to the ground, hitting houses, vehicles, and roads, but no humans.
Fireballs and meteors are common occurrences. An object around one meter in diameter or more massive strikes the atmosphere of Earth roughly 40 times every year.
Few are spotted, though, since the fireballs typically appear over unpopulated sites instead of over major cities like Chicago.
A related report about mysterious fireballs in the sky is shown on WXYZ-Detroit's YouTube video below:
RELATED ARTICLE : Mysterious Blue Spiral Travelling Across New Zealand Baffled People Who Thought It Had Extraterrestrial Origins
Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.
