Fireball: impressive videos captured over France of satellite disintegration
Mystery object confounded residents near Strasbourg and ‘looked like a shooting star’
The company has more than 6,000 satellites orbiting Earth
Artsiom P / Shutterstock
A mysterious glowing object in the skies mystified residents of eastern France last night, with many posting photos and videos on social media.
The object appeared around 21:30, with some initially thinking it was a shooting star that was disintegrating as it approached Earth.
“We saw a huge bright object in the sky with a trail behind it and it really seemed to be fragmenting and breaking up,” a resident of a village close to Strasbourg told FranceInfo.
“It was worthy of science fiction films where you see spaceships re-entering the atmosphere,” he added.
Read more: Spectacular photos of storm ‘red sprites’ in France
Returning satellite
Slightly less dramatic than a rogue spaceship or shooting star, the object turned out to be a satellite re-entering the earth’s atmosphere, as confirmed by research platform Vigie-Ciel.
The satellite belonged to Starlink, Elon Musk’s company which provides wireless internet access, and has over 6,000 satellites in a ‘constellation’ currently orbiting Earth.
‘Starlink 2382’ had malfunctioned, leaving it to fall to Earth and disintegrate when passing through its atmosphere.
You can see videos of the impressive scenes below.
Read more: Portable internet service Starlink Mini is now available in France
