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‘Meteor’ over parts of regional Victoria was Russian space junk

Videos from across Victoria are emerging of a giant flash of light sailing across the night sky. But experts say it wasn’t a meteor.

Rohan SmithRohan Smith
@ro_smith
less than 2 min read
May 22, 2020 - 8:35PM
A piece of Russian space junk put on a show over Victoria on Friday night.
A piece of Russian space junk put on a show over Victoria on Friday night.

Amateur video footage from across Victoria was splashed across social media on Friday night showing what many assumed was a meteor.

But experts have weighed in and it appears the light — which lasted more than 20 seconds — was from Russian space junk re-entering the atmosphere.

The Astronomical Society of Victoria said the object was the third stage of a rocket used to launch a Russian satellite.

Jonti Hunter, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Southern Queensland, told the ABC the object was identifiable as space junk because of its slow speed.

“The slow speed, about 6 kilometres per second, is a very telltale sign that it is space junk,” he said.

Star-gazers reported seeing the object pass through the atmosphere across parts of central Victoria and as far south as Tasmania.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/meteor-over-parts-of-regional-victoria-was-russian-space-junk/news-story/4603c911db939228937ca36cc40c9b9d