Video of what looks like a fireball falling from the sky in Texas is raising plenty of questions — and now, the government has some answers.
The Texas Fireball Video
The video, captured by an Austin news photographer during a marathon Sunday morning, shows some sort of unidentified object coming down and sending off sparks.
Texas Fireball, Satellite Crash Connection
Initial speculation suggested the Texas fireball may have been some sort of small aircraft crashing. Then, FAA statements quoted in early news stories said the object could be debris from last week’s satellite crash in space. The FAA had issued a warning to pilots just one day earlier to be on the lookout for any possible debris from the collision:
“FDC 9/5902 FDC .. SPECIAL NOTICE .. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. AIRCRAFT ARE ADVISED THAT A POTENTIAL HAZARD MAY OCCUR DUE TO REENTRY OF SATELLITE DEBRIS INTO THE EARTHS ATMOSPHERE. FURTHER NOTAMS WILL BE ISSUED IF MORE INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE. IN THE INTEREST OF FLIGHT SAFETY, IT IS CRITICAL THAT ALL PILOTS/FLIGHT CREW MEMBERS REPORT ANY OBSERVED FALLING SPACE DEBRIS TO THE APPROPRIATE ATC FACILITY TO INCLUDE POSITION, ALTITUDE, TIME, AND DIRECTION OF DEBRIS OBSERVED.”
Texas Fireball: NASA’s Explanation
The U.S. Strategic Command, however, now says the fireball had “no relation” to the satellite crash, News 8 Austin reports. And scientists with NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, having reportedly analyzed the video shown above, are now being quoted as saying the object was a natural meteor.
Interestingly, similar fireball-like explosions were reported in Kentucky Friday night.
Got your own theories? Feel free to weigh in.
