UPDATE: Scientists believe that space junk WT1190F which was due to fall to earth somewhere in the southern tip of Sri Lanka may have burnt in the atmosphere and did not make it to land.
A hunk of space junk is expected to fall to Earth in a spectacular light show near Sri Lanka today morning — at 11.48am local time (6:20 UTC). The object is reported to get as bright as the full moon in the mid day sky over Sri Lanka and expecially visible to those living in the South.
WT1190F was first spotted on February 18, 2013, but scientists suspect that it’s been in orbit around Earth since 2009.
At around 1:20 pm ET, the space junk will collides with Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.
The point of re-entry will be over a patch of Indian Ocean about 62 miles off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Only residents of the southern province of Sri Lanka are expected to have the chance to see the event.
However, the online observatory Slooh plans to get some of the first observations of the object on its approach toward Earth. And they’ll be broadcasting the event live starting at 8 am ET.
Though experts anticipate that WT1190F poses no threat — because most, if not all, of it will burn up in the atmosphere — the Sri Lankan government is taking precautions.
On Thursday, CBCNews reported that the government had imposed temporary no-fly zones and fishing bans near the re-entry point.
Though it is nearly impossible to know what WT1190F is, the European Space Agency suspects it could be a chunk of a fuel tank that once powered a rocket to space and was then discarded.
And when it returns to Earth’s atmosphere, it could be a pretty spectacular show, according to observational astronomer for Lowell Observatory, Nicholas Moskovitz.
“Unfortunately, [the event] is right around mid-day, which means the sun is going to be up, but the object is probably going to get as bright as the full moon,” Moskovitz told Business Insider. “So, if you’re looking in the right location ... you could probably see it.”
Even if it’s difficult to see with the naked eye, scientists will have a number of instruments pointed at the object as it breaks apart in our atmosphere.
This is the first time that experts have calculated the exact time and location a piece of space junk will collide with Earth.
Scientists hope to use their observations to improve predictive models of how objects interact with Earth’s atmosphere, which is important for establishing danger zones if, say, a large asteroid were to strike over a highly populated area at some point in the unforeseen future.
