Space object flying over Moscow raises questions — expert

The space object that flew over Moscow this morning is, according to preliminary estimates, an asteroid, which is somewhat inconsistent with how long the car was visible and how it collapsed, the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Institute of Space Research (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported.

"Preliminary information on the trajectory of the car shows the presence of a certain number of oddities," the release says.

According to average estimates, the object most likely flew at an altitude of 60 to 100 kilometers about 450-500 kilometers north of Moscow. At the same time, the most likely value of its speed is 20 kilometers per second.

According to the head of the Laboratory, Sergei Bogachev, such speeds, if the preliminary estimates are correct, almost unequivocally indicate that this is an asteroid. At the same time, the car could be observed for about 25 seconds, which is very long for an asteroid, but quite typical for space debris. Also more typical for artificial bodies is the intense fragmentation that could be observed.

"From additional unusual moments, it can be answered that so far there is no evidence of observation of the body at the zenith (overhead), which should be very numerous, based on the calculated trajectory, including over large settlements. You may also be somewhat surprised that the bulk of the observations came from Moscow, and not from St. Petersburg or the cities of Vologda and Cherepovets located on the trajectory of the body's movement,"the Laboratory added.

Scientists explained that if the body flew much higher, for example, at an altitude of 400-500 kilometers, then it would have to have an exceptionally high speed.

As EADaily reported, this morning Muscovites and residents of the Moscow region noticed something resembling a meteorite in the sky. An unusual phenomenon could be seen around 6:30 a.m. from Vidnoye, Dubna, Ramenskoye, Zhukovsky, Lyuberets, Krasnogorsk, Odintsovo and some districts of Moscow.