UFO or Meteor Shower... The Identity of the 'Light Streaks' Adorning the Night Sky in the US

"End-of-life Communication Device Debris Falling"

Unidentified beams of light poured into the night sky over the western United States, drawing the attention of netizens. While some speculated about unidentified flying objects (UFOs), the phenomenon was determined to have been caused by the debris of an expired communication device falling.

[Image source=New York Times, reprinted]

According to local media reports in California on the 20th (local time), a fast-moving beam of light was captured in the sky over the area on the 17th. The phenomenon lasted for about 40 seconds. Jaime Hernandez, who works at a brewery in Sacramento, the capital of California, filmed the scene, and the brewery owner posted the video directly on the company's Instagram account, making it a hot topic.

The brewery described the video as a "wild fireworks display" and said, "This flew over the brewery tonight. What do you think?" They also added the hashtag 'UFO.' Netizens responded with comments such as "Looks like a UFO," "Lucky to have captured this moment on camera," and "I wish I had seen this phenomenon too."

[Image source=Yonhap News·Instagram]

The phenomenon was identified as sparks caused by the debris of an expired communication device falling. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, explained in an interview with local media, "This beam of light is believed to have been caused by a communication antenna discarded from the International Space Station (ISS) in 2020, which re-entered the atmosphere and burned up."

He said the debris of this device likely burned while falling at a speed of 27,000 km/h from an altitude of about 60 km, creating the visible beam of light. Based on the trajectory, it is estimated that the debris fell toward Yosemite National Park in central California. This 310 kg device originally belonged to a Japanese company and was sent to space and loaded onto the ISS in 2009. However, as its lifespan ended, the ISS operators decided to dispose of it.

McDowell explained, "It is common for devices of this size to re-enter Earth's atmosphere once every few weeks," adding, "This has been happening continuously over the past 50 years." He further noted, "Although it is not a frequent event in any single area, it always feels new to people observing it from the ground."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.