A dazzling fireball later identified as debris of Starlink satellite #5693 streaked across the Midwest night sky at 03:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 29 (21:00 local time on Tuesday).
American Meteor Society (AMS) received 69 reports from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
The debris fireball created a stunning display of several colors including orange, brown, yellow, and red, with observers reporting seeing up to 20 individual pieces, all with a trail.
One observer from Mukwonago, Wisconsin remarked that the sigh reminded him of the starship Launch 7 reentering the atmosphere after the explosion. “They looked like something in low Earth orbit was reentering. There were several chunks all going in the same direction of various brightness,” he said.
“It was a white to orange to reddish blazing something that kept getting larger in size as it sped across the sky – major intensity as it arced over my view with multiple shards coming off and more tail showing as it left my viewing sight,” said Ashley from Elkader, Iowa. “Three or more fragments burst off as it arced over the sky” she added.
Reentries of Starlink satellites occur regularly due to their design and natural orbital decay. While not all are observed, those that are can produce noticeable light displays, such as the one seen over the Midwest yesterday.
Starlink satellites operate in low Earth orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 540 km and 570 km (336 miles and 354 miles). At these elevations, atmospheric drag gradually reduces their altitude, eventually leading to reentry, where they burn up in the atmosphere. This controlled lifecycle helps prevent long-term space debris.
As of January 28, 2025, SpaceX has launched approximately 7 811 Starlink satellites, with around 6 994 still in orbit and 6 243 operational. Given these numbers, Starlink satellite reentries are frequent. It is estimated that about 2 tonnes (2.2 tons) of defunct satellites reenter Earth’s atmosphere daily, sometimes producing visible reentry events.
While most re-entries occur over oceans or uninhabited areas and remain unnoticed, some are visible over populated regions, appearing as fireball-like streaks in the sky.
In early February 2022, a geomagnetic storm caused the premature reentry of 38 newly launched Starlink satellites, creating visible streaks across the sky.
References:
1 Fireball report 600-2025 – AMS – January 29, 2025