Reno, NV — A mysterious streak of light lit up the skies across five western states Saturday night, captivating onlookers from California to Nevada with what experts now believe was falling space debris.
According to the American Meteor Society, the bright light seen in the night sky was not a meteor. Instead, officials believe it was debris from the SpaceX Dragon Freedom-2 capsule, which launched in late September 2024 and was expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere around March 23.
The Society’s tracking map shows the debris entered the atmosphere west of Stockton, California, and continued northeast, becoming visible as far as Fallon, Nevada, before breaking apart and vanishing.
Witnesses across the region reported seeing the object grow in size before splitting into fragments. Many described the tail lengthening and the pieces scattering before disappearing from view.
Experts at Aerospace confirmed that the falling debris was uncrewed, and the chance of any remnants reaching the ground remains extremely low. NASA data shows that, on average, just one piece of space debris reaches land each day globally, with most burning up during reentry.
The American Meteor Society noted that meteors flash quickly, often lasting seconds, while space debris moves slower and may remain visible for over a minute.
