VIDEO: Fireball streaks across Spain and explodes over Murcia

What many believed to be an early arrival of the spectacular Perseid meteor shower turned out to be something far more unusual. The brilliant fireball that lit up the skies over Spain on Friday night, August 8, was in fact space debris from a Chinese rocket re-entering the atmosphere.

 

At 9.55pm, a dazzling streak of light was seen travelling across the night sky from Andalucía, Murcia and the Valencian Community to the Balearic Islands. The sight caused excitement among stargazers, many of whom assumed it was linked to the annual Perseids.

 

However, astronomers soon identified it as the remains of China’s Jielong-3 rocket, launched earlier that same day.

 

The confirmation came from astronomer Jonathan McDowell, whose assessment was supported by the Fireball and Meteorite Research Network (SPMN) of the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC). Science communicator Josep Calatayud from the Mission Control platform explained that the fact it was space debris accounts for the magnitude and intensity of the flashes seen across such a wide area.

 

According to the Astrohita Foundation, which operates at the La Hita Astronomical Complex in Toledo, the rocket fragments entered the atmosphere at 9:55 p.m. The fiery spectacle was captured by detectors operated by the Southwest European Fireball and Meteor Network (SWEMN).

 

The debris path began above the Valencian town of Jarafuel, moved southwest over the province of Albacete, and ended in a brilliant explosion above Los Arejos in the municipality of Águilas in Murcia.

 

The object travelled roughly 182 kilometres through the atmosphere before completely disintegrating, producing flashes bright enough to be seen from more than 600 kilometres away.

 

Although fragments of space debris frequently burn up on re-entry, experts warn that such events can pose risks to other space operations or, in rare cases, to people and property on the ground if any pieces survive the descent.

 

This unexpected spectacle may not have been a Perseid but it was no less remarkable, giving onlookers across eastern Spain a rare glimpse of a Chinese rocket’s fiery final moments.