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A piece of space junk, believed to be the bright object in the middle of the picture, will re-enter Earth's atmosphere in November.(Photo: European Space Agency)
A mysterious piece of space debris called WT1190F<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is expected to enter Earth’s atmosphere near Sri Lanka Friday.
The piece of space debris is fittingly colliding with Earth on the unluckiest day on the calendar – Friday the 13th.
The object is believed to be a discarded rocket body and will likely enter<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Earth’s atmosphere<span style="color: Red;">*</span>from above the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Indian Ocean<span style="color: Red;">*</span>around 11:49 local time or 1:19 a.m. E.T., according to the European Space Agency.<span style="color: Red;">*</span> In preparation for the object's entry, there is a no-fly zone order and no fishing will be allowed in the "Southern sea area"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on Nov. 13, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense said in a statement earlier this week.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
When the object enters the atmosphere, it will likely burn up completely, though whatever does not burn will likely plunge into the Indian Ocean.
"Its mass is not sufficient to cause any risk to the area, but the show will still be spectacular, since for a few seconds the object will become quite bright in the mid-day sky," ESA said in the statement.
Imgur
According to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>NASA,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>there are more than 500,000 pieces of space junk that are being tracked as they orbit Earth.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>WT1190F<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was first spotted in 2013<span style="color: Red;">*</span>by the Catalina Sky Survey,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>based at the University of Arizona, and has been observed several times over the years, according to the ESA.
Researchers<span style="color: Red;">*</span>used observational data to estimate the objects density and were able to conclude that it was not an asteroid. It appears to be manmade and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>it’s possible the object is from the Apollo era, according to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Nature.
Follow @MaryBowerman on Twitter.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
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