Unidentified falling object not from Chinese rocket, says Pinoy scientists
PALAWAN – Meteors and not rocket debris from a launched Chinese rocket may have hit two municipalities here.
This was the statement of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) on Tuesday issued a clarification regarding the sighting of an unidentified falling object in the atmosphere followed by an explosion in Bataraza and Rizal towns in Palawan on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023.
“PhilSA would like to clarify that the phenomenon is highly unlikely to be related to the Long March 7A and the Long March 3B rockets,” PhilSA’s Space Technology Missions and Systems Bureau director Marc Caesar Talampas said in an official statement released to the media.
On Monday, PhilSA warned the public against falling debris from the Long March 7A rocket that China launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan Island.
The agency has identified two drop zones — in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan province.
“The Long March 7A rocket was launched on Monday, January 9, while the sighting and supposed explosion happened on the evening of January 7,” he added.
Based on publicly available information, which includes closed-circuit television footage, the phenomenon could have been caused by a meteor as it enters the atmosphere, the agency said.
“Small meteors, usually a few centimeters across, completely disintegrate in the atmosphere while larger meteors may survive the atmosphere and eventually hit the ground and produce a loud booming sound,” it said.
The reported sighting and explosion are also unlikely to be related to any orbital debris reentry, Talampas said. The PhilSA noted, however, that these occurrences are very rare.
Although there have been records of meteorites landing in the Philippines, PhilSA has not received any reports of meteorites being sighted or recovered, Talampas said.
“Similar phenomena that could simulate bright flashes of light and produce explosion sounds include fireworks and thunderstorms,” he said. (Giovanni A. Flaviano)
