Space debris will disintegrate above the water on Friday

Lunar rocket debris is expected to disintegrate over Sri Lankan waters on Friday, according to the European Space Agency.

Space debris likely from a lunar rocket will enter the atmosphere on Friday and disintegrate over Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, according to the European Space Agency (ESA), which intends to study the phenomenon.

“This event presents an extremely low risk for people but it could help scientists to better understand how objects – natural or man-made – react to contact with the Earth’s atmosphere,” said ESA.

A spectacular spectacle

The debris, dubbed WT1190F, should strike the Earth and disintegrate in the atmosphere around 6:18 a.m. UTC (GMT), or 11:48 a.m. local time in Sri Lanka, explains Jérémie Vaubaillon, astronomer, to AFP. at the Paris Observatory.

As it begins to re-enter about 100 km from Earth, the object, which measures “at most a few meters in diameter” , will heat up strongly on contact with molecules in the atmosphere and then disintegrate, according to ESA. Much of WT1190F will burn. The rest is expected to fall into the ocean about 65 km off the southern coast of Sri Lanka. “Its mass is not sufficient to present a risk for the area concerned, but the spectacle may be spectacular, because for a few seconds the object will become very bright in the sky” , underlines ESA. “A priori, there is no danger for the populations on the mainland because this residual debris will fall into the water” , declares Jérémie Vaubaillon.

An area to avoid

“On the other hand, it is better for Sri Lankan fishermen to avoid the area around noon local time because that is when the rain of small debris should take place,” he said. Spotted in 2013, WT1190F was first mistaken for an asteroid before astronomers recently realized it was space debris.

With the proliferation of shipments of spacecraft in space, the fall of space debris has become very frequent. But WT1190F is special. “It comes from very far away and its orbit is ‘chaotic’ . We think it is a third stage of a lunar rocket, but we do not know by which country ” it was launched, declares Mr. Vaubaillon. “Its orbit is mathematically impossible to predict,” he adds. Hence the “surprise” of astronomers. The Paris Observatory will send two people to Sri Lanka to take images of its re-entry into the atmosphere.

An expected observation

For their part, ESA experts will monitor the event from an aircraft, which will guarantee them good visibility whatever the weather conditions, according to Mr. Vaubaillon.

A Sri Lankan Navy boat will be dispatched to try to recover debris, he adds. ESA hopes that observation of the event will “improve models and tools predicting returns to the atmosphere” of space debris or asteroids.

Aishwarya Yogeshwar

Aishwarya Yogeshwar is the visionary founder of CGI Jaffna, a pioneering organization dedicated to fostering innovation and community growth in the Jaffna region. With a deep passion for news publishing, Aishwarya combines her entrepreneurial spirit with a keen interest in delivering impactful and engaging stories. Her commitment to creating a platform for reliable news and meaningful discourse reflects her dedication to empowering communities through knowledge and information. Aishwarya’s leadership and innovative approach make her a driving force in the world of media and communication.

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