Footage published on YouTube showed the comet-like object hurtling towards Earth, and stunned onlookers reveled in the form.
A young boy, accompanied by his friends, was heard calling out in his native language as he pointed towards the sky. He then zoomed in to get a look at the glowing object.
In the video's caption, the user shared, "My friends and I saw the movement of some object in the sky, it looked like a comet, but it flew slowly, and we realized that it was some kind of rocket or flying machine. A little later, it exploded, and a pattern in the form of jellyfish was formed; we even heard some kind of sound similar on blast."
Stargazers took to the comments section to speculate what the object could have been. One said it could be a satellite re-entering the atmosphere, with lithium burning off towards the end.
However, there were also more creative answers ranging from UFOs to asteroids and comets or meteorites.
One user also declared it to be a meteorite, pointing out that the Earth gets hit by several a year. Meteors burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere, creating a streak of light behind them. (Related: Internet abuzz with sighting of unexplained, massive disc structure apparently buried in the ice near the South Pole.)
Asteroids, meteors, and comets
These bodies that sometimes collide with the Earth have their differences. Here's what you need to know:
- Asteroids: These are small, rocky bodies that orbit the Sun. While most of them can be found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, they can be found anywhere, including a path that could sometimes impact Earth.
- Meteoroids: The small chunks that break off when two asteroids hit each other are called meteoroids.
- Meteor: When a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it vaporizes and becomes a meteor. It will look like a streak of light in the sky due to the burning rock.
- Meteorite: When the meteor does not vaporize completely and survives the trip through the atmosphere, it can land on Earth as a meteorite.
- Comet: Comets orbit the Sun like asteroids; however, they are made mostly of ice and gas, which, when vaporizing, often result in beautiful tails forming behind them.
Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome
Another speculation about the jellyfish formation is that that it could have been a rocket. Several test launches have taken place at the newly remodeled Vostochny Cosmodrome launch site, and records showed that the most recent test launch was completed on the same day of the jellyfish sighting.
The Vostochny Cosmodrome has carried out eight launches since its first one in 2016. However, in 2021, the intensity of the launches increased. Among the planned ones are commercial launches of the OneWeb spacecraft as well as the Russian automatic station, Luna-25. This is created within the framework of the "Luna-Glob" project by the Lavochkin Research and Production Association and will study the near-polar region of the moon as well as work out the technology of soft landing of its surface.
The start of the launch was preceded by organizational and technical consultation, comprehensive assessments, design, and survey work. The launch complex of the cosmodrome for the Soyuz-2 launch vehicles is now operating normally, and the ground space infrastructure has already provided eight launches of Soyuz-2 carrier rockets. Several more are being prepared.
Now, the second launch complex is underway. The space rocket complex, called "Angara" is set to launch its first vehicle at the end of 2023.
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