A spectacular #reentry of a Falcon 9 upper stage that had botched its controlled removal from orbit was seen widely over Central Europe on the morning of 19 February: see https://sattrackcam.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-reentry-of-falcon-9-upper-stage.html for a detailled report, https://fireballs.imo.net/members/imo_view/event/2025/1019 for hundreds of visual reports and dozens of videos and photographs and https://skyweek.wordpress.com/2025/02/16/allgemeines-live-blog-ab-dem-16-februar-2025/#Feb20 for even more links and context! Including images of and articles about several substantial fragments of the stage that crashed down in Poland.

I am curious to see if the local all-sky cameras will have produced movies too...

https://allsky7.net/index.html?&station=AMS60#liveview

https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/all-sky+camera/547667.html

I hope @thusser @unigoettingen will let us know in case they caught something :-)

Today, an hour before sunrise, I noticed a bright, unusually structured cloud in the eastern morning sky (location: north of Hannover, Germany). I took photos between 6:40 CET (solar elevation -8°) and 6:55 CET (solar elevation -5.8°) while the cloud was slowly fading.

Apparently there was a rocket reentry last night, which was seen and filmed over Germany. Perhaps the cloud is its remnant?

“We found that there's about one per cent risk of a re-entry over the really high-density airspace, like around airports. That rises to about a 26 per cent chance of a re-entry in busier air spaces, such as the Northeastern U.S., over Vancouver-Seattle and Northern Europe.”

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/highlights/falling-space-junk-poses-growing-threat-to-aviation-warns-bc-researcher-10198012

"[W]hile [astronomers] continue to work on satellite interference issues, they are expanding their work to other topics broadly associated with space sustainability. These issues range from the threat of obtrusive space advertising and reentries that interfere with their observations to the danger of confusing asteroids with flying Teslas."

Comprehensive reporting by @jeff_foust for @spacenews_inc on Dark & Quiet Skies at #AAS245.

https://spacenews.com/as-the-night-sky-grows-crowded-astronomers-face-a-growing-problem/

#RepublicWorld:
"
Starlinks are Falling: 120 Satellites Crash from Space in January 2025
"
".. raise concerns about atmospheric pollution. .. disintegration of sats releases metallic vapours, including aluminium oxide, which can deplete the ozone layer. A 2023 study found that 10% of aerosols collected 60,000 feet above Alaska contained aluminium + other metals from sat burn-up"

https://www.republicworld.com/science/starlinks-are-falling-120-satellites-crash-from-space-in-january-2025

6.2.2025

"Astronomers noted that over 120 Starlink satellites re-entered Earth's atmosphere in January alone. ... While the re-entries produce visually stunning fireballs, they also raise concerns about atmospheric pollution."

https://www.republicworld.com/science/starlinks-are-falling-120-satellites-crash-from-space-in-january-2025

Excellent video of a Chinese rocket #reentry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9eb-C6C9j4

"
Weltraummission Cluster: Salsas letzter Tanz

Seit 24 Jahren untersuchen die vier Cluster-Satelliten die Magnetosphäre der Erde. Am kommenden Sonntag tritt der erste der Weltraum-Methusalems in die Erdatmosphäre ein. Eine Pressemitteilung des Max-Planck-Instituts für Sonnensystemforschung.
"
https://www.raumfahrer.net/weltraummission-cluster-salsas-letzter-tanz/

4.9.2024

The widely observed 'fireball' over Central Europe at 19:29 UTC Tuesday of which https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo_view/event/2024/4700 has plenty of visual reports, videos and photographs (still more are linked from https://skyweek.wordpress.com/2024/08/24/so-sah-die-kamera-janus-auf-juice-den-mond/ at the end of the section "STEREO-Bilder: Es geht ...") was actually the deliberate #reentry of a retired #Starlink #satellite: https://x.com/jremis/status/1828361475427082266 -> https://x.com/planet4589/status/1828547531569049792

The #reentry #spacedebris or #meteor from Tuesday evening, 21:30, that was visible from southern Germany might have had this trajectory. I triangulated this from visibility southwards from Heidelberg, St Wendel, Heidenheim, as well as reports from Switzerland and statements it was seen also from northern Italy, France and Belgium.

Just hand-drawn, no scientific triangulation.

@astrophysikerin @hausderastronomie

Potential #Ozone Depletion From Satellite Demise During Atmospheric #Reentry in the Era of #MegaConstellations: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GL109280 -> SATELLITE “MEGACONSTELLATIONS” MAY JEOPARDIZE RECOVERY OF OZONE HOLE: https://news.agu.org/press-release/satellite-megaconstellations-may-jeopardize-recovery-of-ozone-hole/ - WHEN INTERNET-PROVIDING SATELLITES, NOW BEING LAUNCHED BY THE THOUSANDS, REACH END OF LIFE, BYPRODUCTS OF THEIR FIERY DEATHS IN EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE WILL CATALYZE CHEMICAL REACTIONS THAT DESTROY STRATOSPHERIC OZONE.

Mein letztes Bild des Überflugs des ISS-Batteriepacks heute Abend über der Wedemark.

Ab 19:21:12 MEZ für 5 s belichtet bei f/2.8 und ISO 320. Volles Bild bei f=28 mm an einer Canon EOS 6D.

Der Batteriepack ist die längere, aber schwächere der beiden Strichspuren. Das erste Bild ist ein Ausschnitt aus dem vollen Format. Man sieht die Helligkeitsabnahme durchs Taumeln.