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Streaking fireball seen across NW skies apparently rocket stage burning up

Fireball Gary Dehm 325
Gary Dehm
Gary Dehm saw the fireball streaking across the sky in view west on Wilson Avenue in Bend Thursday night
Fireball Jordan Bond Redmond to Sisters
Jordan Bond
Jordan Bond said he was heading from Redmond to Sisters with his wife when they spotted the fireball in the sky, pulled over and took photos of the sight, heading from the west toward the northeast

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A wide, colorful streak of pulsing lights seen shooting across the Pacific Northwest sky just before 9 p.m. Thursday apparently was the descending, burning-up second stage of a rocket that launched Starlink satellites earlier this month.

Astronomer Johnathon McDowell said the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage, from a March 4 Starlink satellites launch, "failed to make a deorbit burn and is now reentering after 22 days in orbit."

Kristin Collins, who lives at the Tetherow Resort in northwest Bend, was sitting on the couch and said she looked through the window of a front door when she saw the streak of colorful lights moving slowly across the sky.

"I was turning around yelling for my husband, standing there with a dog in the street, thinking, 'Have I watched too many sci-fi movies?' It lasted forever, like 25 seconds?

Jeff Stoltenburg said he saw what appeared to be "a HUGE, multiple streaking, sparkling meteor" from his home off Lower Bridge. "It was unreal."

Noah Rischitelli said he was out snowmobiling with his girlfriend on their weekly "star hunt" night ride when they saw the mesmerizing site "from Sparks Lake, under the full moon."

"It was wild!" he said. "Being up in the mountains, away from city light pollution, it was absolutely spectacular. Watched the entire thing from start to finish and saw it ravel across the entire sky. I was so mesmerized, I couldn't take out my phone to capture. Amazing for sure!"

According to The Associated Press, there were no reports of damage or other impacts on the ground.

The Seattle Times reports the rocket delivered Starlink satellites, built in Redmond, Washington, into orbit earlier this week. SpaceX says the Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth and landed as planned on its ocean-going barge off the coast of Florida.

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Barney Lerten

Barney is the digital content director for NewsChannel 21. Learn more about Barney here.

The Associated Press

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