It was around 10pm on Wednesday when a bright light appeared in the sky over Kiev. The mysterious flash only pierced the darkness for a few seconds, but that was enough cause concern in thousands of people living under the constant threat of an attack from Russia. Was it a missile? A satellite? Or a meteorite?
The appearance of the light in such a delicate context as the one currently experienced by the Ukrainian capital was of such magnitude that even generated a brief anti-aircraft alarm, against the possibility that it was a missile launched from Moscow. However, that was quickly debunked.
“It was not a rocket attack and our air defense did not use its weapons,” the administration said in a statement. With this option excluded, speculation has begun to spread like wildfire in the networks and on the streets of Kiev.
“The recorded observation tools a strong explosionwe recorded it and determined where it happened,” Ukraine’s Space Control Agency said in a statement.
This was initially stated by the head of the military administration of Kiev, Sergi Popko It was about a NASA satellite falling to Earth, given that the agency had announced days ago that a 300-kilo satellite would re-enter the atmosphere at some point on Wednesday.
NASA, however, has denied that the bright object seen in Kiev was its satellite.
AS,what was seen above the kyiv sky?
A hypothesis awaiting confirmation by the experts
“We are unable to identify the object exactly. Our guess is that it is a meteoritebut we lack data to determine its exact nature,” said Igor Korniyenko, deputy head of the Main Center for Space Control at the Ukrainian Space Agency.
According to Korniyenko, the space agency could not “estimate the size” of the body that entered the atmosphere, causing the flash, but did not touch the ground. “According to our data, it didn’t reach the Earth, there was no impact because there is no seismic data“, He added.
Popko, for his part, specified that at that moment there were no data or reports from any aerospace agency or global astronomical observatory about the possible entry of a large space body into the Earth’s atmosphere, but there was from NASA about the fall of its space satellite to the Earth.
The US space agency had warned of the possibility that its deceased satellite Rhessi, who traveled through space more than 20 years recording 100,000 solar eventsit could crash to Earth early Thursday, but could not yet provide the geographic location.
NASA had said most of the satellite would be consumed by entering Earth’s atmosphere, but warned that “some components” could withstand the impact.
“The risk of anyone on Earth being hurt is low,” con one chance in 2,467specified NASA According to forecasts, it should have entered the Earth’s atmosphere around 5.30 GMT on Thursday morning, with an approximation of “about 16 hours” in an undefined location.
After NASA’s official statement denying that the mysterious light was its satellite, Ukraine said there is still no real explanation for what happened: “What exactly was It must be determined by the experts.“, he explained.
Meanwhile, the networks have filled with memes to explain the mysterious flash of light, such as the image of a crane pulling a UFO, that of a Ukrainian soldier combing a huge unidentified flying object or the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, answers the phone: “Yes Tell me? What planet are you from and what are your weapons?“.
The head of the president’s office, Andriy Yermak, also added to the “alien invasion” speculation by tweeting a loudspeaker emoticon and a UFO.
Source: EFE and AFP
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.