Watch: Mysterious light streaks spotted in night sky over California's Sacramento

Looking at a starry night sky and spotting an unidentified object can be really exciting or even terrifying sometimes. One such shocking incident has been caught on camera recently. Some fast-moving glowing light streaks were spotted in the night sky of Sacramento, California in the United States on 17 March. As per the media reports, an astronomer said that the light streaks were likely space debris from a “Japanese inter-orbit communications system” that was burned as it re-entered the atmosphere of Earth. The video clip of this event was shared by NowThis on Twitter. As the light streak moved across the sky, the surprised residents could be heard saying, “What is that?” Have a look at this video here:

Several fast-moving, glowing lights were seen streaking across the night sky over Sacramento, CA, on March 17. According to one astronomer, the lights were likely space debris from a ‘Japanese inter-orbit communications system’ that burned up upon re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere. pic.twitter.com/2M9XXmCXCC

— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) March 21, 2023

A user commented that he was glad he missed this sighting, as it could be unsettling if one did not know what it was.

I think I'm glad I missed this, definitely unsettling if you don't know what it is

— Nate Carrier (@n8carrier) March 21, 2023

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The flaming chunks were actually the debris of the Inter-orbit Communication System-Exposed Facility, as confirmed by Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian and Harvard Center for Astrophysics, to media outlets. The retired 700-pound communication antenna was sent into space in 2009. The communication equipment was jettisoned from the International Space Station (ISS) in February 2020. It streaked across the sky at a speed of around 27358.8 km. The equipment’s orbit had shrunk over the last couple of years until it got low enough to burn up and break apart. McDowell told The New York Times that around 10 per cent of the equipment might fall on Earth. The equipment reportedly came down in an uncontrolled re-entry, and this is the reason experts cannot find out where the objects will land. According to McDowell, the pieces are going to likely fall somewhere around Yosemite National Park. The equipment, the size of the one that formed the light streak, re-enters Earth’s atmosphere every few weeks and has been doing so for the last 50 years according to McDowell. He said, “They don’t happen very often over any one given place, so it’s always new to the people who see it. For me, it’s just another Tuesday.” Moriba Jah, an associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin, informed that the equipment can pollute the upper layers of the atmosphere as it burns. Moriba Jah further said that the equipment can also contaminate oceans and land. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.