Over the past few weeks, a number of celestial phenomena have baffled and delighted Southern Californians.
Early Tuesday morning, night owls spotted streaks of light across the sky, with some theorizing that the event may be related to Monday night's SpaceX satellite launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Another SpaceX launch two weeks ago caused a stir due to its light and eye-catching jet line.
But the real reason was less clear and arose further afield. It was Chinese space junk.
Although many hypothesized more mysterious sources — aliens, spy drones, unexpected meteors — what onlookers saw at 1:40 a.m. was the expected “reentry of the Shenzhou 15 orbiter,” a Smithsonian astronomer wrote. Jonathan McDowell at X.
In fact, the American Meteor Society has reported 85 reentry sightings from Sacramento to San Diego, with most concentrated in the Los Angeles area.
On average, one piece of space junk falls into Earth's atmosphere every day, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that there are more than 170 million pieces of space debris flying around Earth, posing potential risks to active satellites and a small risk to humans on Earth as well.
“Although space debris is rarely a concern for humans on Earth, our satellites in the sky often have to avoid its dangerous path,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
However, the wreck usually results in nothing more than an impressive visual display.
Last March, Californians enjoyed a light show as a piece of International Space Station debris burned up in our atmosphere.
In November 2022, three astronauts boarded the Shenzhou 15 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station, ditching the orbital module that will eventually head toward Earth on Tuesday, according to Space.com.
After a six-month stay, the crew landed safely in the Gobi Desert in June. The orbital module that carried them into space continued to orbit Earth, getting closer and closer to destroying it.
