A bright fireball was observed in the sky over four US states, starting to break up as it moved south. It was a communications satellite. starlink companies SpaceXReturning to Earth’s atmosphere.

The object was observed by dozens of eyewitnesses last Saturday evening; Reports began coming in after 10pm Central Standard Time on November 9th. and Oklahoma, with the most reports coming from Oklahoma City and the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

However, astronomers are sure that this is not a meteor, but the communications satellite Starlink-4682, which belongs to SpaceX and was launched into orbit with a group of 54 devices as part of the Starlink 4-23 mission in 2022. Eyewitnesses responded to this sight with admiration on social networks; As it moved south the object began to break apart – this was particularly reported in Texas.

Considering that there are currently more than 7,000 Starlink satellites in orbit and SpaceX is adding to its fleet every week, the vehicles are re-entering the atmosphere every day, sometimes several at a time. There is an opinion that this could harm the atmosphere: when burning in it, devices emit aluminum oxide, which can damage the ozone layer and change its ability to reflect sunlight – the consequences could be evident within the next decade.