Aureole 2: came down

What

Satellite (AUREOLE 2)

Catalog number

7003

Launched

Dec 26, 1973 (1973-107A)

Size on radar

large

Came down

October 27, 2026 at 4:03 PM UTC

Where it came down

36.2° S, 142.2° E, over Australia, heading south

Updates

9 from Space-Track, the last on Oct 28, 2026, 1:58 AM UTC

See it on the Sky Globe

Its last path

The line is where it would be at each moment of the window; the dot is where Space-Track expects it at the predicted time. Within the shaded band it could be seen, low in the sky, if it came down at that point.

Who could have seen it

Cities within about 1,000 km of the path while their sky was dark:

• Dalian: 38 km to the west, 11:44 PM GMT+8
• Qingdao: 171 km to the northeast, 11:44 PM GMT+8
• Melbourne: 198 km to the west, 3:03 AM GMT+11
• Tangshan: 224 km to the northeast, 11:43 PM GMT+8
• Anshan: 227 km to the west, 11:43 PM GMT+8
• Shanghai: 249 km to the east, 11:46 PM GMT+8
• Adelaide: 251 km to the east, 2:32 AM GMT+10:30
• Zhu Cheng City: 252 km to the northeast, 11:44 PM GMT+8
• Ningbo: 278 km to the northeast, 11:46 PM GMT+8
• Shenyang: 282 km to the west, 11:43 PM GMT+8
• Changshu City: 295 km to the northeast, 11:45 PM GMT+8
• Kunshan: 296 km to the northeast, 11:45 PM GMT+8
• Fushun: 325 km to the west, 11:43 PM GMT+8
• Tianjin: 326 km to the northeast, 11:43 PM GMT+8
• Suzhou: 328 km to the northeast, 11:45 PM GMT+8
• Wuxi: 336 km to the northeast, 11:45 PM GMT+8
• Beijing: 347 km to the east, 11:43 PM GMT+8
• Zibo: 347 km to the east, 11:44 PM GMT+8
• Gwangju: 384 km to the west, 12:45 AM GMT+9
• Hangzhou: 385 km to the east, 11:46 PM GMT+8
• Pyongyang: 397 km to the west, 12:44 AM GMT+9
• Incheon: 424 km to the west, 12:44 AM GMT+9
• Taipei: 438 km to the east, 11:47 PM GMT+8
• Tai’an: 440 km to the east, 11:44 PM GMT+8

How the prediction changed

What a reentry looks like

Satellites and rocket stages hit the air at about 28,000 km/h (17,000 mph). About 70 to 100 km up they start to glow and break apart, so from the ground it looks like a slow line of orange and white fireballs, often with glowing trails, moving across the sky together in a straight line. It can last from 30 seconds to a few minutes, and it can be seen from up to about 1,000 km away, low on the horizon.

Not a meteor: a meteor is over in a second or two. A reentry is slower, lasts longer, and usually breaks into a cluster of pieces. Not a plane: no blinking lights, and it doesn't turn.

Is it dangerous?

Almost never. Starlink satellites are built to burn up completely. Big rocket stages can drop a few tough parts, like fuel tanks, which nearly always land in the ocean. If you find something you think fell from space, don't touch it: take photos and call the local police.

Saw it? Report it Everything coming down

Predictions from Space-Track.org (USSPACECOM's reentry messages). They narrow as the day comes: a few days out the time is only known to within hours, in the last hours to within minutes. Tumbling objects can still come down outside the window. Paths are worked out from the newest orbit data.