The light phenomenon could be seen in pretty much all of Sweden – from Kalix in the north to Klippan in the south.
Pictures show a relatively large and white lump that shines brightly in the otherwise dark night sky. The phenomenon could be seen for over a minute.
“The light was strong, no sound and it went slowly,” writes a person who experienced the whole thing in Gothenburg on the night of Saturday.
But it wasn’t any aurora or shooting star, nor was it the moon that looked different.
What lit up the sky early Saturday morning was the remains of a rocket launch from the Vandenberg Space Base in California, USA. That’s what space scientist Eric Stempels at Uppsala University says The evening paper.
Deceleration over Scandinavia
It is a rocket part that fell back to earth.
– In the Pacific Ocean there are certain areas without islands where they try to let rocket stages fall back to earth. Most of it then burns up in the atmosphere. All this is done in order not to create space junk unnecessarily, says Eric Stempels to Aftonbladet.
That the rocket remains were visible over Sweden is due to the launch site of the rocket.
– In order for rockets in polar orbit from California to fall into the Pacific Ocean, the deceleration needs to take place over Scandinavia. We will see more similar phenomena in the future, says Eric Stempels.
Second time in a short time
It is the second time in a short time that the phenomenon has appeared in the Swedish night sky.
During one night at the end of May, the same hourglass-shaped light phenomenon was seen in several places in Sweden. Just like this time, it was a rocket launched from California.
– During this time of year, the sun is a little below the horizon, which means that we have fantastically beautiful nights with blue skies. High up, a little outside the atmosphere there is still a lot of sunlight. This allows you to see how the rocket comes over Sweden. And the exhaust gases that are released cause it to get some kind of hourglass-shaped tail or double tail, Eric Stempels said at the time in Nyhetsmorgen.