this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2024
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Astronomy

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Big, doomed satellite seen from space as it tumbles towards a fiery reentry on Feb. 21 (photos) (www.space.com)
submitted 9 months ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/astronomy@mander.xyz
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[–] Rubisco@slrpnk.net 3 points 9 months ago

In an update posted on Sunday (Feb. 18), ESA said that the rentry ERS-2 is expected to take place on Wednesday (Feb. 21) at 10:19 a.m. ET (1519 GMT), plus or minus around 19 hours. This uncertainty is due to the "influence of unpredictable solar activity, which affects the density of Earth's atmosphere" and can therefore change how much drag pulls on the satellite on its way down, ESA wrote.

Plus or minus 19hrs due to the sun's effect on the density of the atmosphere. Mind blown.