A mysterious white light seen streaking across the Thai sky on Saturday morning was probably space debris and not a meteor, says a senior astronomer.
Saran Poshayachinda, deputy director of the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, said the long tail of white light was thought to be space junk from a Russian rocket and would pose no danger to the earth.
Sightings were reported in several locations including Chiang Mai, Phrae, Nan, Lampang, Phitsanulok, Phayao, Tak, Chai Nat, Ayutthaya, Nong Khai and Maha Sarakham. Images and video clips of the phenomenon were widely shared online.
Mr Saran said the object was not a meteor as it moved slowly, nor it was a plane as speculated. It was likely to be debris from a Zenit SL-23 rocket ejected during the launch of the Russian Electro-L2 satellite. The debris was believed to have fallen into the Pacific Ocean, he said.
The rocket was launched on Dec 11 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan. Aerospace.org, which tracks space junk, had been predicting its re-entry into the atmosphere would occur sometime on Jan 2.
Mr Saran said the sighting was not an unusual phenomenon as it could be scientifically explained. According to Nasa, about 500,000 pieces of space junk are orbiting the Earth and almost all of them are tracked to ensure they pose no danger.
A long tail of white light is seen in the sky over Lampang. (Photo by Aswin Wongnorkaew)