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Meteor or Elon Musk's 'space litter'? Mysterious bright objects streaking across Oregon skies were rocket debris

The video captured is unreal but the National Weather Service in Seattle revealed that it could have been debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

Many people in Oregon were immensely surprised to spot what looked like a large meteor breaking apart in the sky on Thursday night, March 25. Many people took to social media to talk about their fascination with the phenomenon while others, as usual, made jokes.

There is no confirmation of what exactly the disintegrating fireball-like object was, but the National Weather Service (NWS) in Seattle reveals that it could have been debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

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A video captured of the flaming night sky phenomenon by Andy VanOrder and uploaded to Andy's Auto Care Plus' YouTube account, shows what appears to be a dozen or more objects moving together across the horizon.

The NWS says it has been reported that the rocket did not have a successful deorbit burn, which caused the fiery streaks seen flying across the sky. In the video, one can hear two people taking - wondering about what they were seeing in the sky. One person, presumably an adult, says, "What the heck is that?" adding, "That's like a comet or something." 

An equally amazed and super excited child can be heard saying, "It's shooting stars! So many! I've never seen shooting stars, Andy," the child says. "This is amazing! Andy! They're changing colors!" the child can be heard saying as the object gets closer to the horizon. 

At this point, Andy theorizes, "That's a massive asteroid. Or comet or something - i don't know! That's like once in a lifetime right there!" Finally ending with, "I can't believe we just got that on video." 

NWS Seattle took to Twitter to share, "While we await further confirmation on the details, here's the unofficial information we have so far. The widely reported bright objects in the sky were the debris from a Falcon 9 rocket 2nd stage that did not successfully have a deorbit burn."

Their tweet added, "Based on the observed video, this looks more likely than a bolide meteor or similar object as they would be moving far faster on impact with our atmosphere. There are NO expected impacts on the ground in our region at this time. More info will be posted as it becomes available."

Many on social media are now debating if it really was debris from one of Musk's rockets. "Is it a #meteor or one of @elonmusk toys again," one user asked. "Elon’s space litter nice #meteor," another user commented. Another user tweeted, sharing the video on Twitter, "Seen in the sky over Husum, WA at 9, followed a minute later by booms. #meteor #oregon #Washington #westcoastmeteor #rocket #nasa #space."

People started sharing their videos from different locations across the country - Vancouver, Washington, Florida, SW Portland, Seattle, among others - expressing their amazement at the phenomenon.

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell tweeted, explaining, "The Falcon 9 second stage from the Mar 4 Starlink launch failed to make a deorbit burn and is now reentering after 22 days in orbit. Its reentry was observed from the Seattle area at about 0400 UTC Mar 26."