Many photos of alleged UFOs in the night sky over Germany recently circulated in social networks. Experts provide information.
Oberhausen – In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), numerous people suspected UFOs in the night sky on Tuesday evening (28.09.2021). Recordings shared on Twitter show a bright cone of light in the dark night sky.
According to matching media reports, the bright object was seen in several cities in the state, including the state capital Düsseldorf and Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. This is reported by the Bild newspaper, for example. Accordingly, calls were also received at local police stations. Unsettled citizens had asked the officials. But recordings from Cologne and Neuss also circulated in social networks. The phenomenon did not only appear in Germany, but also in other European countries such as Scotland and Sweden. But what is behind the phenomenon in the night sky?
UFO reports in Germany: Experts give details on light cones
The sightings were not only reported to the police and broadcast on Twitter, but also reached the Society for Research into the UFO Phenomenon. The Bild-Zeitung quotes the chairman of the association, Hans-Werner Peininger, as follows: “It was about the deployment of the Earth observation satellite ‘Landsat 9’, which was launched yesterday on a launcher at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The satellite was placed in Earth orbit over Europe. “
A bright cone of light caused # UFO reports from Germany, caused by the deorbit of an # AtlasV rocket stage (preparation for re-entry). https://t.co/biqK5sclqG
– ufoinfo.de (@UFOinformation) September 28, 2021
As indicated by Peininger, “Landsat 9” is actually a NASA satellite. As the space agency announced, a new model was released on the evening of September 27, 2021. The satellite is already the eighth of its kind that NASA is using for research in orbit. NASA documented the launch of the new satellite in a video:
With various satellites of the “Landsat” series, NASA mainly measures the surface of the earth. In addition, the satellite images are used for the early detection of forest fires or volcanic eruptions. The project has existed for almost 50 years, as reported by the news portal Golem.de. The first “Landsat” satellite was therefore sent into space in 1972.
The data collected by the satellites are freely accessible to the public in the NASA archive. (do)
