Fireball or Satellite Sighting — Saturday Night (WDIO)

📍 Location

📝 Description

Following Saturday-night reports of a bright object visible across the Upper Midwest and parts of Canada, observers described a white, fiery ball with a long tail that sometimes displayed green or yellow tones. The American Meteor Society logged about 136 reports from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, and Canadian provinces Manitoba and Ontario. On December 8, 2025, AMS announced that the event was not a fireball but the reentry of SpaceX Starlink satellite #3322, with video of the reentry captured near Isabella, Minnesota (credit Ed Wilkens). This sighting, consistent with known Starlink deorbit events, was widely observed but produced no reports of ground debris.

🔍 Circumstances

Observed on Saturday night, starting around 6:00 PM local time, across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and into Canada. Witnesses reported a bright elongated fireball with occasional color flares; AMS logged 136 reports. A video of the reentry near Isabella, MN (credit Ed Wilkens) accompanied the reporting. AMS later identified the event as Starlink satellite #3322 reentry.

👤 Physical Description

White, fiery ball with a long tail; sometimes flared with green and yellow tones; very bright and visible across a wide area; duration described as lasting several seconds.

ℹ️ Additional Details

Video of the reentry near Isabella (credit Ed Wilkens) supports the identification. The event aligns with SpaceX Starlink satellites deorbiting and being tracked by observers; AMS collected a large number of reports across the U.S. and Canada, and later confirmed that Starlink satellite #3322 was the likely cause.

🔗 Sources (4)

👥 Community Contributions

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