Dramatic moment fireballs are seen flying across the sky as 'Chinese satellites enter atmosphere over Arkansas'
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This is the astonishing moment streaking fireballs lit up the night sky as a Chinese satellite burned up and re-entered Earth's atmosphere. The fireballs, which scientists have identified as Beijing's SuperView-1 02, were spotted soaring through the sky over Bryant, Arkansas around 10pm Sunday.
![[Thousands of residents in the southeastern US saw a beam of orange light travelling over their homes as the satellite broke apart and began its tumultuous return to Earth. Many locals thought they had witnessed a meteor shower, but scientists say that is not the case]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/11/93423289-14220973-image-m-48_1734954923244.jpg)
Thousands of residents in the southeastern US saw a beam of orange light travelling over their homes as the satellite broke apart and began its tumultuous return to Earth. Many locals, including Reagan Jones, who posted video of the explosion on social media, thought they had witnessed a meteor shower, but scientists say that is not the case.
![[The he phenomenon was actually the 'uncontrolled reentry' into the atmosphere of China's SuperView-1 02 satellite (pictured in file photo). The satellite was originally launched from Taiyuan, China in 2016]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/11/93422449-14220973-image-a-28_1734952140217.jpg)
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks spacecrafts, confirmed on X that the phenomenon was the commercial imaging satellite's 'uncontrolled reentry' into the atmosphere. McDowell said the SuperView-1 02 was 'space junk' and had been 'dead as a doornail since January 2023'.
![[The SuperView-1 02 re-entered Earth's atmosphere above New Orleans, Louisiana at 10.08pm local time, scientists claim. The satellite was heading northbound toward Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri and 'widely observed' by residents across the southeastern US]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/11/93422443-14220973-image-m-30_1734952223925.jpg)
He noted that officials knew the satellite was coming down on Sunday, they only had a '+2-hour accuracy estimate' so they weren't sure when or where it would occur. The American Meteor Society received at least 120 reports of sightings across Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri after the satellite exploded.
![[The American Meteor Society received at least 120 reports of sightings across Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri after the satellite's eruption]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/11/93422445-14220973-image-a-29_1734952152155.jpg)
This is the astonishing moment streaking fireballs lit up the night sky over Bryant, Arkansas around 10pm Sunday. Thousands of residents in the southeastern US saw a beam of orange light travelling over their homes as the satellite broke apart and began its tumultuous return to Earth. Many locals thought they had witnessed a meteor shower, but scientists say that is not the case.
