"More than 200 people from San Francisco to Reno reported seeing the celestial phenomenon, according to the American Meteor Society. Multiple people filmed the fiery object as it moved eastward, with the first reports coming in around 7:50 p.m. Thursday evening. Videos of the fireball revealed a long, slow-moving object, white and orange in color, that broke up into smaller parts as it descended."
"The mysterious object wasn't a naturally occurring meteorite, but a Starlink satellite falling back to Earth, the American Meteor Society reported. Multiple Starlink satellites were predicted to reenter the Earth's atmosphere on Thursday evening, according to the Aerospace Corporation database, which tracks satellites returning to Earth. One way to tell the difference between a meteor and a bit of human-made space debris is to look at how fast the object moves and whether it breaks up, according to the nonprofit Aerospace Corporation."
A bright fireball lit up the night sky across hundreds of miles over California, with more than 200 people from San Francisco to Reno reporting sightings. Multiple witnesses filmed a long, slow-moving white and orange object that broke into smaller parts as it descended eastward around 7:50 p.m. The American Meteor Society identified the object as a Starlink satellite reentering the atmosphere, and the Aerospace Corporation database showed multiple Starlink satellites predicted to reenter that evening. The Aerospace Corporation advised that human-made debris moves slower and often fragments in tight clusters with streaks, unlike much faster natural meteors. SpaceX had not responded to information requests.
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