Starlink satellite falls to Earth, burns up as stunning fireball over US (video)

A brilliant fireball that lit up the skies over four U.S. states is reported to be from the fiery reentry of a SpaceX Starlink satellite.

Dozens of eyewitnesses reported seeing a meteor on Saturday (Nov. 9) just after 10:00 p.m. Central Standard Time (11:00 p.m. EST or 0400 GMT on Nov. 10). The American Meteor Society received 36 different reports about the bright fireball as it passed over Colorado, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma. The sightings were mostly clustered around the Oklahoma City and Dallas-Fort Worth regions.

As it turns out, this was likely no ordinary meteor. It appears to have been SpaceX's Starlink-4682 spacecraft, part of a group of 54 satellites that launched in 2022 on the Starlink 4-23 mission.

A still from a video shot by Jim Saueressig II of Burlington, Kansas submitted to the American Meteor Society, showing a fireball on the evening of Nov. 10, 2024. (Image credit: AMS/Jim Saueressig II of Burlington Kansas)
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According to astronomer and spacecraft tracker Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the bright object was likely a Starlink satellite burning up in Earth's atmosphere as it fell back toward our planet.

The particular Starlink spacecraft, designated Starlink-4682, appears to have reentered "on a track over Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and Oklahoma and appears to have been widely observed," McDowell posted to X on Nov. 10.

According to eyewitness reports submitted to the American Meteor Society (AMS), the fireball was impressive. "Best sighting ever!," wrote witness Kevin W. of McKinney, Texas.

"Most amazing thing I've seen in a really long time," wrote another witness in Canton, Texas.

A map generated by the American Meteor Society showing the locations of 36 fireball reports filed on Nov. 10, 2024. (Image credit: AMS/Google Maps)

Other witnesses described the fireball as it appeared to break up into smaller fiery pieces of debris in the sky. "This was a fragmented/fragmenting fireball. I saw it as a glowing area that became more clearly a large fireball that had fragmented," wrote Ryan T. of Kaufman, Texas.

As more and more of these Starlink reentries occur (and as SpaceX continues to launch them weekly), some astronomers and environmental scientists say the effects of these reentries aren't well understood and could be harming Earth's atmosphere.

As these satellites burn up in the atmosphere, they release harmful aluminum oxide, which can harm Earth's protective ozone layer and alter its ability to reflect sunlight; both of these factors change the temperature of the upper atmosphere. "If we don't do anything, we will see the impact globally within the next 10 years," Minkwan Kim, an associate professor of astronautics at the University of Southampton in the U.K., has told Space.com.

While these reentries occasionally produce fireballs visible from the ground, most go completely unnoticed. In fact, McDowell previously told Space.com, a Starlink satellite reenters the atmosphere almost every day.

"Sometimes multiple," McDowell said.

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Brett Tingley
Managing Editor, Space.com

Brett is curious about emerging aerospace technologies, alternative launch concepts, military space developments and uncrewed aircraft systems. Brett's work has appeared on Scientific American, The War Zone, Popular Science, the History Channel, Science Discovery and more. Brett has English degrees from Clemson University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In his free time, Brett enjoys skywatching throughout the dark skies of the Appalachian mountains.

  • Classical Motion
    What’s the greenest-blue smear at the top that moves with the stars?
    Reply
  • billslugg
    This would likely be an internal reflection, between individual lens elements, of a bright light within the camera field of view. Or it could be the Greys. One of those two.
    Reply
  • Classical Motion
    Well, it looked like a subspace alien energy disturbance to me. It’s right there for all to see. Have you ever been employed by the US government?
    Reply
  • billslugg
    "I have done work for the federal government and I have been paid, however I am not a government employee and there is no protective relationship." That is what I was told to say.
    Reply