Space News: Fireworks Shower Across Sri Lanka Coast as Mystery Object Crashes on Earth
After a month of anticipation, scientists finally saw the mysterious object from outer space that has been announced to hit earth; the object's fall was caught on camera, and while some people got worried over the object's collision with Earth, scientists view the fall as a heavenly sight.
Named WT1190F, or more famously called "WTF," the object was said to have been spotted first in 2013 by the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona. The European Space Agency later gave the object a name on Oct. 3.
According to CNN, the agency said the object's movements indicated that it cannot be an object made of solid rock since it had a density of about 10 percent — a percentage similar to that of water and not present in rocky objects.
"This is too low to be a natural space rock, but it is compatible with being a hollow shell, such as the spent upper stage of a rocket," the agency said.
It was announced earlier that the space debris can't possibly pose dangers to Earth since it measured only about 6 and a half feet in diameter. However, some people who heard of the fall still couldn't help but be worried of what it could bring to the planet upon landing.
On Friday evening, November the 13th, the alleged rocket debris entered the Earth's atmosphere and spread a few sparks that appeared like fireworks as it made its landing off Sri Lanka's coast.
Scientists who have been following the object's movements were able to record the spectacular skyfall and shared the success with social media users. "Our Pleasure It Is To Announced The Success Of The # WT1190F UAE Airborne Campaign. We saw and captured the reentry," the post reads.
In the video shared on YouTube the asteroid-looking object seemed to cut itself in parts, resulting to the fireworks effect that it made before landing.
Astronomers aren't exactly sure what it is just yet, but what's clear is there was no alien invasion or planetary destruction that resulted from its fall.
