YUMA, Ariz. – Residents in Yuma and Imperial County saw a fireball crossing the Desert Southwest sky Tuesday night that turned out to be debris from a Russian rocket re-entering the atmosphere
U.S. Strategic Command spokeswoman Julie Ziegenhorn says the fireball seen over Arizona, Nevada and California in the Tuesday night sky was an SL-4 rocket body booster from Russia that was launched Monday.
Dozens of people took to social media to share videos and photos and marvel at the white fireball flying through the sky that some described as a shooting star. Others wondered if it was a meteor breaking up on re-entry or space debris from a fallen satellite.
One local Facebook follower, David de la Fuente, reached out to KYMA on Facebook and told us he saw the fireball in the Imperial Valley. He was able to capture it on video.
There were other viewers in Yuma that also saw the fireball.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press and KYMA News 11