Space Debris Re-Entry Caught On Harbor Cams Across Lake Superior

It's a pretty spectacular sight to see when space debris re-enters the earth's atmosphere. The incredible friction from the speed of the craft colliding with air molecules turns it into thermal energy, causing the craft to burn up. It's a good thing, considering we don't want rockets slamming into neighborhoods.

I saw on YouTube that the Duluth Harbor Cam put together a short video montage of the debris streaking across the sky. The first clip is as it passes over the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge.

Next, they shared a clip from Two Harbors, where you can more clearly see the multiple streaks of the object.

However, my favorite shot was seeing it as it passed over the Split Rock Lighthouse. That's really cool!

What was the cause of the space debris?

BringMeTheNews reported that it was likely a Chinese rocket that launched a satellite into orbit. Anyone who happened to be looking up to the sky in our entire region couldn't have missed it. It was reported across the Midwest.

Related: Fireball? UFO? Meteor? What Was That Over Duluth?

Why You're Seeing More Space Debris Than Ever Before

Last month, a Starlink satellite burned up on re-entry and was seen across Minnesota and Wisconsin. With more private companies in the space game, there are a lot more rockets, satellites, and other objects in Earth's orbit. They all have a shelf-life and eventually come back down in hopefully a controlled re-entry.

Larger space objects that may not completely burn up on re-entry are usually guided to a remote part of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo. It's the most remote location on the planet, and the safest place for space junk to fall.