Strange lights attributed to ‘exploding satellite’
‘Astronomers say an exploding Russian rocket satellite may have caused a mysterious glow in the night sky over southern Queensland.
Tuesday’s spectacle was described as being twice the size of a full moon, with a bright centre.
Mark Rigby from the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium says the Russian launch went wrong almost a year ago.
“Unfortunately the rocket boost didn’t quite work, the satellite, the Arab satellite, re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere about a month later,” he said.
“But this rocket stage, the upper stage was still up and is still orbiting the Earth.
“And for some strange reason the fuel tanks have ruptured and it’s exploded.”‘
