To Northern Lights tells Stian Dunvold that he became aware of a strong flash of light when he was on Grøtfjordstranda outside Tromsø. He took pictures of it at 10 p.m.
– Very special experience. Never seen this before, he says.
Dunvold posted the photos on Facebook and says that he has subsequently received messages from people from Svolvær in the south to Finnmark in the north who have seen the same.
May have been satellite
Landsat 9, a satellite that was launched from California on Monday night, is mentioned as a possible explanation. It must observe human and natural changes on the earth’s surface.
The part that lit up may have been the upper part of the launch vehicle that was on its way down through the atmosphere where it burned up, writes Marco Langbroek at the University of Leiden on Twitter.
Langbroek has mapped satellites and filmed the phenomenon from Leiden in the Netherlands. He writes that the satellite has probably been on its way down over the British coastline.
The phenomenon has also been observed in Sweden. Space scientist Eric Stempels at the University of Uppsala says Aftonbladet that he also thinks it may be the Landsat 9 satellite, even though he is surprised that it took so long to get to Sweden.
Stempels tells the newspaper that a few weeks ago it was confirmed that a similar light phenomenon was due to a Russian rocket with a satellite.
Turned off
NRK has also received a number of tips from people who have observed similar light phenomena. Jostein Kristensen observed the light from Værøy in Lofoten at 23.17 on Monday night.
June-Kathrin Velsvik saw a white light with a tail of light behind her. Velsvik says the light turned a little and changed shape a bit, as if the tail was crumbling. After a few minutes, the luminous triangle became smaller, before it was extinguished. Finally, the top light also went out.
Another tipper observed the light phenomenon from the island of Landegode off Bodø. This was also at 23 o’clock.
To iTromsø communications consultant Ørjan Vøllestad at Andøya Space Center states that they did not have launches on Monday. He has no definite answer as to what the light came from, but believes it could be a satellite that has hit the atmosphere, a rocket fired from Russia or a meteor.
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