Yesterday, a mysterious glow was observed in the sky above the capital at approximately 10:00 p.m. for a few seconds. The Kyiv military administration reported that the outbreak could have been caused by the fall of a NASA satellite. Communities of space enthusiasts denied the theory and talked about bolides, while social networks began to joke about the arrival of aliens. So what was it?

Updated (14:50): The State Space Agency of Ukraine reported that the flash was probably caused by a meteor falling from the Lyrid Stream.

The Lyrids are a meteor shower, the source of which is a large amount of dust and small debris left by Comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher). The Earth entered the comet plume on April 15, 2023, and will exit on April 29. The peak of the shooting star falls on April 21.

To begin with, here are some shots of the flash, which were filmed by eyewitnesses:

After the mysterious glow in the sky, the people of Kyiv assumed that it was another air raid by the Russians and the successful work of air defense, however, the head of the Kyiv military administration, Serhiy Popko, reported in Telegram that the anti-aircraft defense was not working. He specified that the bright flash was probably caused by the fall of a NASA satellite.

The satellite theory was immediately denied in space-related communities, and later an official NASA comment appeared. Indeed, the US space agency announced earlier this week that the decommissioned 300-kilogram RHESSI satellite will re-enter the atmosphere on Wednesday (the solar flare observer was launched into low-Earth orbit in 2002 and decommissioned in 2002).

Speaking to the BBC, Rob Margetta of NASA’s Office of Communications said the satellite was still in orbit when the flare was observed and would re-enter Earth’s atmosphere overnight. The agency and the US Department of Defense continue to monitor RHESSI.

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On the educational channel Alpha Centauri, they said that the most likely object that flared up in the sky over Kyiv was a bolide or, more simply, a meteor (a meteor is a light phenomenon, while a meteorite is a solid body of cosmic origin. A meteorite reaches the Earth, and a meteor small particles that burn when entering the atmosphere).

Version of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

The main special control center of the State Space Agency of Ukraine wrote that at the same time their infrasound devices registered a “high-energy acoustic event” associated with the entry of a space body into the dense layers of the atmosphere.

At the same time, social networks liked the version about UFOs and extraterrestrials, so even before the official explanations, they were filled with memes (although they also joked about the satellite – but a different one, for which money was collected all over the country).