Fallen object could be debris of WT1190F

Local and foreign scientists and astronomers believe that the little object that has fallen into a paddy field in Aranayake could be debris of WT1190F which was expected to create a sensation on November 13.

Dr. G. D. K. Mahanama who was among the local scientists who were assisting the astronomers of European Space Agency (ESA) , International Space Agency (IAC) and United Arab Emirates Space Agency that visited Sri Lanka for the space show which the WT1190F was expected to make said there was a possibility of little left over pieces falling on to the land. “ We don’t know exactly what the farmer in Aranayake had seen but it could be a little left over piece as there was a possibility of such little pieces falling on land,” he said.

It was reported that a farmer in Aranayake had seen a something like a fire ball coming down and falling into a lake nearby. He had later informed the Aranayake Police.

Meanwhile, a team of astronomers had captured spectacular images of the object from a high-flying plane over the Indian Ocean very close to the predicted time of arrival. The astronomers who were monitoring the movement of the object from the aircraft Gulfstream 450 had seen the object breaking into two and exploding according to Dr. Mahanama.

In an airplane window high above the clouds, the crew, which included Peter Jenniskens, Mike Koop and Jim Albers of the SETI Institute along with German, UK and United Arab Emirates astronomers, took video images of the phenomenon.(Yohan Perera)