According to the American Meteor Society (AMS), at least two dozen sightings from Jacksonville to Key West were reported Wednesday by local residents, who described the object as a bright orange streak. However, AMS said “there’s no real explanation yet,” while the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office joined in on the conversation by tweeting, “No, we were not invaded last night by Martians but we appreciate the level of confidence you have of us to stop intergalactic invaders.”
— Matt Cusson (@matthewcusson) July 3, 2019
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) July 3, 2019
However, astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said that the unusual fireball was nothing more than pieces of a Chinese military communication satellite in orbit.
"The stuff is moving slowly. It's breaking up into multiple pieces. It's sort of a classic space debris break-up," McDowell told the Associated Press.
— ally??? (@Yo_ImAlly) July 3, 2019
The Chinese rocket which McDowell believes was the source of the debris was launched in January. It weighs more than two tons and is approximately 30 feet long.
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) July 3, 2019
According to the Center for Astrophysics, the time at which videos and photos of the mysterious object were shared on social media coincides with the time the rocket was expected to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
In fact, such re-entries are common, McDowell noted. However, they don’t usually take place “at night over the United States where lots of people see it.”
“So that’s what was unusual,” McDowell added.
