WT1190F! Space Junk Crashing Into Earth On Friday Nov 13
A piece of space junk that would arrive in November has scientists and sky gazers excited for it could be part from one of the historic space missions.
According to The Washington Post, the debris measures 3 by 6 feet long and is hollow, which indicates that it is manmade. Named WT1190F, the object was only identified when it began its course towards Earth. Given its size, most of it is likely to burn away as it makes its way through the atmosphere but may offer a view for people living in Indian Ocean countries.
Scientists do not consider the object a threat but are curious because it is not a near-Earth body. It is possible that the object is a component from one of the recent moon missions or could date as far back as the historic Apollo missions. Currently, around 20 objects in distant orbits around Earth are being tracked, Scientific American reports.
No object in the past was noticed to have returned to Earth though scientists do not discount the possibility that many pieces of space junk could have landed without anyone noticing.
