An event which resembled a meteor shower was witnessed on Monday 29 August in Gauteng – Photo: Twitter
An event which resembled a meteor shower was witnessed on Monday 29 August in Gauteng – Photo: Twitter
Well, you don’t see this every Monday night, do you? The pitch black skies over Gauteng were briefly lit-up by something totally cosmic this evening – but there remains some doubt over whether this was actually a METEOR spotted by locals on the ground.
ALSO READ: WATCH: ‘Shooting star’, ‘meteor-like’ object spotted over Gauteng
Did we just see a meteor in Gauteng?
The alleged shooting star was spotted above the province just after 19:00 on 29 August. A number of residents were able to take snaps on their phones, uploading them to social media shortly afterwards. The gallery of galactic images didn’t prove conclusive, however.
From Johannesburg South to the Northern Suburbs of Pretoria, some onlookers were able to get this suspected meteor on video. The following clips provide us with the clearest footage of the event – but people have already begun to debunk the theories put forward by amateur stargazers.
WATCH: Alleged meteor seen in the skies of SA…
— Makau_Mangana_Magasa (@Mokgalabjeza) August 29, 2022
We saw it as well… #starlink pic.twitter.com/gcUR5KNuxl
— Andre B Louwrens (@ablouwrens) August 29, 2022
PRETORIA CBD pic.twitter.com/LqmjzcgeeF
— Buhle_M (@Boohle_2k) August 29, 2022
A shooting star? Maybe not, actually…
As suspected by a number of contributors online, experts for Gauteng Weather have deduced that this was actually a sighting of the Starlink Satellite Train. If true, it would be a much more practical explanation: Way to ruin the party, guys!
“The so-called ‘meteor’ spotted over Gauteng on the evening of Monday 29 August is most likely to just be the Starlink Satellite Train.” | Gauteng Weather post on Twitter, Monday 29 August 2022
What is Starlink?
The Starlink initiative will eventually see 4 409 satellites launched into orbit, followed by a further 7 518 that will do their work at a slightly lower altitude than the rest of the satellites. It’s the work of Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.
Launching Internet satellites into space is only part of SpaceX and Starlink’s objective. Musk also plans to use revenue from the Internet coverage mission to develop and build Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rockets.
