Bright lights seen in Malaysian skies as Nasa satellite burns up
The government's Space Authority Division said there were no reports so far about any suspected objects of space debris being found.
On Wednesday night, observers in various parts of Malaysia reportedly witnessed bright lights in the sky as a defunct NASA satellite plunged into Earth's atmosphere and burned up. The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, weighing 1.4 tonnes, had been orbiting the planet for 22 years before its demise. The US Space Force confirmed the satellite's fiery end over Indonesia's North Sumatra province, approximately 200 miles north of the equator, at speeds around 22 times the speed of sound.
The risk to populated regions was deemed extremely low, with a one in 2,100 chance of any harm befalling individuals on Earth. Malaysia's Space Authority Division received preliminary reports of sightings but has not yet found any space object debris on land or in waters. The ministry advises the public not to handle suspicious objects and to report them to authorities immediately.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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