New Delhi:
A metal ring and a cylindrical object were found this morning in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, a few hours after people saw some objects burning in a long fire lane in the night sky.
“Last night we received information about a 3 meter ring that was found in a village in Sindewahi. The ring was hot and appeared to have fallen from the sky. A spherical object was found this morning in another village,” Chandrapur Tehsildar Ganesh Jagdale told news agency ANI.
Chandrapur district collector Ajay Gulhane also said people saw an iron ring lying on an open plot on Saturday night. “The metal ring was not there before, so it can be said that it fell (from the sky) yesterday,” he said.
Gulhane said a team from the disaster control room in Mumbai would visit the Chandrapur district to check the objects.
Maharashtra | Last night we received information about the discovery of a 3 meter ring in a village in Sindewahi. Ring was hot and it looked like it had fallen from the sky while today a spherical object was found in another village: Ganesh Jagdale, Tehsildar, Sindewahi, Chandrapur pic.twitter.com/WhHl8c7257
— ANI (@ANI) Apr 3, 2022
Experts have indicated that the debris after a satellite launch may be pieces of rocket boosters.
Two satellites launched overseas on Saturday, a Rocket Lab Electron launcher from New Zealand’s Mahia Pensula. But it could not be confirmed whether these boosters belonged to that rocket.
Astronomer Jonathan McDowell tweeted that the debris may have come from the return of a Chinese rocket. “…The third phase of the Chang Zheng 3B serial number Y77 which was launched in February 2021 – it is expected to re-enter in an hour or so and the track is a close match,” tweeted Mr McDowell.
I believe this is the return of a Chinese rocket stage, the third stage of the Chang Zheng 3B serial number Y77 launched in Feb 2021 – expected to re-enter in an hour or so and the orbit is a close match pic.twitter.com/BetxCknAiK
— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) Apr 2, 2022
The cylindrical object found in Maharashtra is about 1.5 feet in diameter.
People posted videos of the objects burning up in the atmosphere on social media last night. They were visible from several districts in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
With input from ANI and PTI