Astronomers successfully captured the first image of the out-of-control Chinese rocket "Long March 5B," which appeared in the sky over Italy as a glowing spot of light. The website "Space" reported that the image of the Chinese rocket was taken while it passed over the automated telescope of the "Elena" group in Italy. Italian scientists noted that the rocket was moving at a high speed when it flew at an altitude of 700 km above the virtual telescope project.
Gianluca Masi, the scientist who took the picture, stated, "While the sun was a few degrees below the horizon, the sky was incredibly bright, making the imaging conditions very difficult, but the automated telescope succeeded in capturing the massive rocket." He added, "This is another remarkable success that showcases the amazing capabilities of our automated facility in tracking these objects; as you can see, there is a typical CCD blooming effect at the bottom of the bright image of the rocket due to the high brightness of the object."
Earlier, the U.S. Air Force released its predictions regarding the rocket on the "SpaceTrack" website this Friday, indicating that the rocket will enter the Earth's atmosphere on May 9 over Turkmenistan. According to the U.S. military, the rocket will enter the atmosphere on May 9 at 2:13 Moscow time, over Turkmenistan at coordinates 38.1 degrees North and 62.5 degrees East. The U.S. military had previously predicted that the rocket would land in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean, in an area not far from New Zealand.
