Rabat – In the early hours of Tuesday, several eyewitnesses in Morocco and Spain observed the passage of a series of fireballs across the night sky. The phenomenon occurred due to the re-entry of a Chinese rocket debris into the atmosphere.
According to Jose Maria Madiedo, a Spanish astrologist at the Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics, the remains of the Chang Zheng2F (CZ-2F) orbital carrier rocket re-entered the atmosphere and broke into multiple fragments, creating fireballs.
The Chinese Space Agency (CNSA) launched the rocket on June 5. The launch was part of the Shenzhou 14 mission, which sent three astronauts to its space station for a six-month mission.
At around 12:30 am (GMT+2), the rocket debris crossed Morocco’s northern provinces, specifically Tetouan, from the Atlantic ocean. The fireballs then flew over the Mediterranean sea between Morocco and Spain, passing around 10 kilometers from the Spanish city of Almeria, Mediedo said.
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The rocket remains were last detected as they crossed the Mediterranean sea between Algeria and Spain, around 100 kilometers from the coast of the Spanish city of Murcia. The phenomenon lasted around two minutes.
The Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics released a video of the event, showing the spectacular fireballs blazing at a 255,000 kilometers per hour speed.
Startled by the fireballs streaking through the sky, eyewitnesses of the phenomenon from both Morocco and Spain captured the fiery re-entry of the CZ-2F with stunning pictures and videos of the phenomenon on social media.
According to Spanish media, Andalusian emergency services received several calls from terrified people reporting about seeing “shooting stars” and “fireballs” in the sky.
Morocco has witnessed several astrology events throughout the year. On May 15, astrology enthusiasts in Morocco enjoyed a total lunar eclipse, referred to as the “blood moon.”
