A satellite weighing about as much as an adult male rhinoceros is set to re-enter Earth's atmosphere today, but scientists don't know exactly when or where.

A satellite will likely make an uncontrolled return through Earth’s atmosphere today, according to the latest estimates from the European Space Agency.

It says ERS-2, which weighs about as much as an adult male rhinoceros, is expected to re-enter at about 11:32 a.m. EST — plus or minus 4.6 hours. The agency can’t predict exactly when and where the satellite will re-enter because its return is “natural.”

  • FigMcLargeHuge@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    20·
    10 months ago

    I assume we are talking about an unladen adult rhino… And why didn’t they specify the time in some understandable increment, for instance, it will re-enter in the time it would take a normal human to devour 18 triple cheeseburgers from the Burger King in Schenectady NY?

    • thefartographer@lemm.ee
      4·
      10 months ago

      I just can’t imagine this impact… How many rhinos is the Earth and how many times faster than a cheetah will it be traveling??? Plus, really, how far even is space??? You could at least tell me how many CVS receipts or flea jumps away the satellite is.