At dawn, the sky of the Canary Islands lit up with a bright trail while an orbital device it dissolved at high altitudeWitnesses on several islands observed flashes and heard rumbles following the passage of the Chinese satellite, whose main path was vertically above Tenerife.
Scientific teams soon confirmed the origin: it was the XYJ-7, a platform launched by China in 2020 that re-entered the atmosphere. The signal was recorded by various networks, including AEMET station in Izaña, and no material damage or debris on the surface has been reported.
Timeline and how it was detected
The Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC) set the key moment at 01:57:27 UTC, passing over Tenerife and fragmenting, which gave rise to a train of sonic waves. These signals were captured by thirteen seismic stations distributed throughout the archipelago, drawing a clear sequence of the event.
The Canary Islands Seismic Network detected around 02: 58 local time a signal compatible with a racing car, visible from several points in the archipelago. In this context, bolide is used to describe a phenomenon very bright and energetic, regardless of whether the origin is natural or artificial.
The records showed a series of acoustic impulses associated with the breaking up of the satellite into multiple fragments. Each separation generated its own shock wave, which explains why successive rumbles were heard, and even slight vibrations at ground level.
In addition to the acoustic signal, the passage was confirmed in Izaña by optical instrumentation. The sensors confirmed a disintegration at tens of kilometers in altitude, around the mesosphere, where meteors and space debris often break up due to friction.
It coincided in time a small earthquake near Tenerife, which caused confusion among some residents; technicians clarified that both phenomena they are not related, since on the satellite the origin of the signal was a wave propagated through the air.
What object was it and why did it fall?
The Spanish Fireball and Meteorite Research Network (SPMN), together with ICE-CSIC, identified the device as XYJ-7. The specialist Marco Langbroek, from Delft University of Technology, compared the observed trajectory with the predicted orbital evolution and found a complete agreement with the estimated re-entry for that morning.
From Involcan it was recalled that the Earth is continuously exposed the impact of objects of cosmic origin; most are tiny and vaporize as "shooting stars." Occasionally, larger bodies enter or space junk such as satellites or rocket stages, capable of producing intense flashes and perceptible shock waves.
The physics of re-entry is well known: friction with the air generates very high temperatures, sufficient for the material to overheated above 1.500 ºCThe result is an intense luminescence and, when parts of the object exceed the sound barrier, successive explosions which seismometers record as acoustic pulses.
The National Geographic Institute clarified that the signal associated with the event had a signature compatible with waves in the atmosphere, not with a tectonic process. For its part, the IAC and automatic cameras collected images where the progressive fragmentation of the device in several incandescent paths.
Although episodes like this are becoming more frequent more frequent Due to the increase in space traffic, the risk to the population is low: the vast majority of debris disintegrates at high altitude and, except for exceptional cases such as Chelyabinsk in 2013, does not cause significant damageIn the Canary Islands, no incidents have been reported.
What happened leaves a clear image of how scientific networks work when an object re-enters: coordinated detections, orbital analysis and instrumental verification allow to explain a luminous and sonorous spectacle that, despite being striking, had no consequences for the citizens.
