Torvald Hessel, Executive Director for the Austin Planetarium, discussed the satellite collision and falling debris. Related Links NWS: Possible satellite debris falling
Austin Planetarium blog
Space debris illustration from space
The FAA issued a warning Friday saying, “...possible satellite debris falling across the region... The national weather service in Jackson [KY] has received calls this Evening from the public concerning possible explosions and...or Earthquakes across the area. The federal aviation administration has reported to local law enforcement that these events are being caused by falling satellite debris. These pieces of debris have been causing Sonic booms...resulting in the vibrations being felt by some Residents...as well as flashes of light across the sky. The cloud of Debris is likely the result of the recent in orbit collision of two Satellites on Tuesday...February 10th when Kosmos 2251 crashed into Iridium 33."
Officials at Austin Bergstrom Intertational Airport say they have received several calls as well, including operators from 911 inquiring about the incident but they have no confirmed reports of falling debris or impact areas.
There have been no confirmed reports of anything falling according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, "whatever it is may have burned up in the atmosphere."
KEYE TV viewer Steve Thornton says, “I saw something burn up in the atmosphere going east to west at 40 degrees on the horizon looking north. There was no smoke trail. It was about the size of a half moon and as bright as a welders torch.”
KEYETV.com reader Max Lyon witnessed the fireball and says it was “a bright glowing egg-shape with an orange center and bluish outer aura; a silvery-white tail. The tail was intact for several seconds, then became segmented. The single object became several objects during incineration. A white trail remained visible for up to 10 minutes, slowly widening and distorting with the movement of upper level wind currents.”
The FAA office in Austin says they are certain it was not an aircraft and there are reports as far as the Fort Worth airspace being affected. According to the FAA more than likely it was debris falling from the atmosphere. They also tell KEYE TV there are reports of fallen debris on the ground north of the Austin area but that has not yet been confirmed. There were warnings from the FAA issued Saturday about the possibility of debris falling from two satellites that crashed on Tuesday.
Officials in Williamson County say there have been reports of the debris falling from Austin to Dallas. Public Information officer John Foster with Williamson County says he has been told it may have been pieces of two satellites that crashed in space last week.
Two communications satellites crashed into each other last Tuesday for the first-ever collision of two intact spacecraft in orbit some 500 miles over Siberia causing a huge debris cloud, according to NASA.
The two communication satellites consisted of an Iridium commercial satellite launched in 1997 and a Russian satellite launched in 1993. Neither of them was working. One satellite weighed around 1,000 pounds while the other was nearly a ton.
Reports from Waco indicate there was a huge fireball in the sky and a loud sonic boom could be heard and felt from McLennan, Falls, Hill and Navarro Counties. Law enforcement has been instructed to contain any area where debris is found so it can be studied to determine if it indeed is from the satellites.
Torvald Hessel with the Austin Planetarium says it’s unusual to see shooting stars in the daylight, if that’s what the object is, because it’s so bright with the sun out. He also acknowledges it could be a defunct satellite, “It actually might be possible this is debris from the two satellites that collided on Tuesday, we just don’t know yet. The FAA says it could be debris from the collision. Astronomically speaking, we thought there was a very small chance it was the satellites but now we’re rethinking that. If it is a shooting star it is big, at least a yard or two across to make that much of a spectacle.”
Hessel expects if it was a star, it would have exploded and there will be debris found. If it was satellites they would have burned up in the atmosphere according to Hessel.
Hessel warns of the potential health hazards if someone stumbles on the debris, “Potentially there will be a health Hazard if this is satellite debris, the iridium satellite should be ok and is probably most likely going to be solar power panels; the defunct Russian satellite may pose a risk.”
Hessel doesn’t wan to scare the public but says if people find pieces they should call the authorities and let them handle it instead of picking things up.
The Austin Planetarium will look at the orbits of the two satellites to compare them to the path of the fireball.
KEYE TV received several calls Sunday of fireballs falling from the sky. Eye-witnesses say the event began around 11:00a.m. Central time.The FAA issued a warning Friday saying, “...possible satellite debris falling across the region... The national weather service in Jackson [KY] has received calls this Evening from the public concerning possible explosions and...or Earthquakes across the area. The federal aviation administration has reported to local law enforcement that these events are being caused by falling satellite debris. These pieces of debris have been causing Sonic booms...resulting in the vibrations being felt by some Residents...as well as flashes of light across the sky. The cloud of Debris is likely the result of the recent in orbit collision of two Satellites on Tuesday...February 10th when Kosmos 2251 crashed into Iridium 33."Officials at Austin Bergstrom Intertational Airport say they have received several calls as well, including operators from 911 inquiring about the incident but they have no confirmed reports of falling debris or impact areas.There have been no confirmed reports of anything falling according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, "whatever it is may have burned up in the atmosphere."KEYE TV viewer Steve Thornton says, “I saw something burn up in the atmosphere going east to west at 40 degrees on the horizon looking north. There was no smoke trail. It was about the size of a half moon and as bright as a welders torch.”KEYETV.com reader Max Lyon witnessed the fireball and says it was “a bright glowing egg-shape with an orange center and bluish outer aura; a silvery-white tail. The tail was intact for several seconds, then became segmented. The single object became several objects during incineration. A white trail remained visible for up to 10 minutes, slowly widening and distorting with the movement of upper level wind currents.”The FAA office in Austin says they are certain it was not an aircraft and there are reports as far as the Fort Worth airspace being affected. According to the FAA more than likely it was debris falling from the atmosphere. They also tell KEYE TV there are reports of fallen debris on the ground north of the Austin area but that has not yet been confirmed. There were warnings from the FAA issued Saturday about the possibility of debris falling from two satellites that crashed on Tuesday.Officials in Williamson County say there have been reports of the debris falling from Austin to Dallas. Public Information officer John Foster with Williamson County says he has been told it may have been pieces of two satellites that crashed in space last week.Two communications satellites crashed into each other last Tuesday for the first-ever collision of two intact spacecraft in orbit some 500 miles over Siberia causing a huge debris cloud, according to NASA.The two communication satellites consisted of an Iridium commercial satellite launched in 1997 and a Russian satellite launched in 1993. Neither of them was working. One satellite weighed around 1,000 pounds while the other was nearly a ton.Reports from Waco indicate there was a huge fireball in the sky and a loud sonic boom could be heard and felt from McLennan, Falls, Hill and Navarro Counties. Law enforcement has been instructed to contain any area where debris is found so it can be studied to determine if it indeed is from the satellites.Torvald Hessel with the Austin Planetarium says it’s unusual to see shooting stars in the daylight, if that’s what the object is, because it’s so bright with the sun out. He also acknowledges it could be a defunct satellite, “It actually might be possible this is debris from the two satellites that collided on Tuesday, we just don’t know yet. The FAA says it could be debris from the collision. Astronomically speaking, we thought there was a very small chance it was the satellites but now we’re rethinking that. If it is a shooting star it is big, at least a yard or two across to make that much of a spectacle.”Hessel expects if it was a star, it would have exploded and there will be debris found. If it was satellites they would have burned up in the atmosphere according to Hessel.Hessel warns of the potential health hazards if someone stumbles on the debris, “Potentially there will be a health Hazard if this is satellite debris, the iridium satellite should be ok and is probably most likely going to be solar power panels; the defunct Russian satellite may pose a risk.”Hessel doesn’t wan to scare the public but says if people find pieces they should call the authorities and let them handle it instead of picking things up.The Austin Planetarium will look at the orbits of the two satellites to compare them to the path of the fireball.
On Tuesday, February 10, the American civilian communications satellite Iridium 33, launched in 1997, and the defunct Russian military communications satellite Kosmos-2251, launched in 1993, collided over Siberia. Five days after the collision, reports have surfaced that burning debris from the collision has been spotted over several U.S. cities from New Mexico to Kentucky.

Calls to 9-1-1 began to come in to Williamson County, Texas sheriff's office around 12:30 p.m. (CT) that burning debris and fireballs were seen falling from the sky onto parts of Austin, Houston, Waco and San Antonio. Residents reported their homes and windows shaking and large explosions. After a search of several areas, the Williamson county sheriff's office reported that no debris or impact sites were found. Earlier unconfirmed reports had said the debris could have been the result of a small plane exploding. 
Iridium satellite. 
Steve Thornton, a resident in Austin told KEYE-TV that he "saw something burn up in the atmosphere going east to west at 40 degrees in the horizon looking north" which was "about the size of a half moon and as bright as a welders torch".  Other residents reported to KEYE-TV that they saw an "egg-shape with an orange center and bluish outer aura; a silvery-white tail."  Some report the incident lasting about 10 minutes.

On February 13, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an alert following reports of "explosions and earthquakes" along with "flashes in the sky" in Jackson and Louisville, Kentucky. There were no injures and authorities could not locate any damage.

"The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported to local law enforcement on Friday that these events are being caused by falling satellite debris. These pieces of debris have been causing sonic booms, resulting in vibrations felt by some residents, as well as flashes of light across the sky," said the NOAA in a public information statement on February 13. The FAA also warns that the debris could cause damage to aircraft in areas reporting falling debris.

"Aircraft are advised that a potential hazard may occur due to reentry of satellite debris into the Earth's atmosphere. It is critical that all pilots/crew members report any observed falling space debris," said the FAA on February 13. Both the NOAA and FAA alerts are in place until further notice and cover an area from New Mexico to Kentucky.

However, Dr. Marco Ciocca, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University told WKYT in Kentucky it would "be months" before any of the satellite wreckage enters the Earth's atmosphere. "The debris doesn't simply fall out of its orbit. It will either vaporize or stay in orbit for some time before falling into Earth's atmosphere." 

The satellites, both of which weighed in excess of 1,000 pounds, and traveling at approximately 17,500 miles per hour, collided 491 miles above the Earth. Scientists say the explosion caused by the collision was massive. They are still trying to determine just how large the crash was and how the Earth will be affected. The United States Strategic Command of the U.S. Department of Defense office is tracking the debris. The result of plotting analysis will be posted to a public website.