ICYMI: The Philippine Space Agency Explains What That "UFO Sighting" Really Was
A sighting was spotted last month.
On May 27, sightings of unidentified falling objects (UFOs) seen over Northern Samar and Zamboanga Sibugay were recorded on video at around 3 a.m. Of course, the clip sent social media into a frenzy.
Was it a plane crash? Was it a rocket? A meteor of sorts? Was it... aliens? Did they happen to land on Philippine soil, particularly in the Visayas region? Was it all just a hoax or something?
The Philippine Space Agency's (PhilSA) new report will put us at ease. Let's be clear on one thing: it was the other kind of UFO (falling, not flying). They wanted to quash any of those conspiracy theories so they looked into the incident.
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What was spotted falling in Northern Samar and Zamboanga Sibugay?
Based on the predictions and tracking of objects returning from space, PhilSA came up with a logical, albeit less fun conclusion to the whole ordeal in a statement.
In all likelihood, it was orbital debris from the CZ-3B rocket launched on August 19, 2019.
"Orbital debris are components, parts, or fragments of objects sent to space, such as spacecraft and satellites, that are no longer serving function," PhilSA wrote. "They are sometimes called 'space junk' that could collide with other objects in space or fall back to Earth. The uncontrolled re-entry of orbital debris in the atmosphere has the potential to cause damage, harm, or injury."
Upon reconstruction of the trajectory, it was found that it entered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean at 3:00 a.m. on May 27. Afterward, it would travel over Panay Gulf at 3:11 a.m., where it became visible from Zamboanga Sibugay. It would cut through the Visayas and head over to the Pacific Ocean.
It added: "The Philippines share the global concern on space debris mitigation, and is committed to the existing guidelines and mechanisms addressing the risks of space debris."
Now we know. Still, we can't help but wish we had a cooler explanation.
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