Nasa's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is due to fall to Earth
tonight and will most likely land in the Pacific Ocean shortly after
midnight British time.
Experts warned it is impossible to know for sure when and where the satellite
will make its final descent, but if predictions are correct then it should
be visible in Britain to the naked eye as it plunges down.
Current models may have to be redrawn as the UARS enters the atmosphere, but
if they are correct Britons will see a bright orange streak in the night sky
to the south east at about 9pm.
Experts who are monitoring the satellite's descent from RAF Fylingdales in the
North York Moors, as part of an international effort to track its path, said
the space junk was "highly unlikely" to hit Britain.
Sq Comm Ralph Dinsley, station commander at RAF Fylingdales, told the
Telegraph: "It is so hard to predict. We know fairly closely where it
is going to hit the atmosphere but after that it is like skipping a stone
across a pond.
Awesome!
If you haven't already heard: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/sep/23/nasa-satellite-could-fall-friday?newsfeed=true
Awesome!
If you haven't already heard: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/sep/23/nasa-satellite-could-fall-friday?newsfeed=true
