Researchers used seismic waves to track the trajectory of space debris from a Chinese spacecraft that entered the Earth's atmosphere. This new technique could help detect incoming space debris globally.
On 2 April, a shower of fireballs illuminated the night sky over Los Angeles and much of central and Southern California. Witnesses speculated whether they were observing a meteor, a failed rocket launch, or even a UFO. Astronomers later confirmed the fireballs were space debris from the orbital module of a Chinese spacecraft named Shenzhou-15, initially launched in November 2022.
The spacecraft's uncontrolled reentry prompted international concerns regarding the dangers of space junk descending to Earth. However, the event also sparked a novel approach for seismologists to utilize ground signals for tracking such debris. Sonic booms were detected by seismometers positioned throughout the Los Angeles basin. Subsequently, a team reconstructed the spacecraft's atmospheric trajectory from these seismic records. This innovative technique could assist researchers in detecting incoming space debris globally, even without visual observations. 'I'm not aware of any previous work attempting to track and characterize space debris using seismic measurements,' stated planetary scientist Benjamin Fernando of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the study's lead author. Fernando and his colleagues presented their findings on 9 December at AGU's Annual Meeting 2024 in Washington, D.C. The escalating hazards of space debrisUntil recently, out-of-control space debris was an uncommon occurrence. 'Increasing space missions have resulted in larger and more spacecraft being launched, subsequently deorbiting,' Fernando explained. 'Fragments of that debris plunge back to Earth, posing a threat to human lives and property.' Fernando became intrigued by the 2 April event after learning that individuals in Los Angeles had heard the debris as it burned brightly overhead. He theorized that if humans could perceive it, highly sensitive seismometers must have also captured signals
SPACE DEBRIS SEISMOLOGY CHINA EARTH TRACKING
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