NASA's aging satellite is expected to crash to Earth this week, but experts tracking the spacecraft say it's unlikely to cause harm.
The video above is about a a rare green comet to pass by Earth for the first time in 50,000 years.
The dead science satellite known as Rhessi will crash through the atmosphere late Wednesday, according to NASA and the Department of Defense.
NASA said Tuesday that the reentry location was not disclosed, given that there is still uncertainty about when and where it will drop. Most of the 660 pound satellite will burn up on its return, but some parts are expected to survive.
The space agency said in a statement that the risk of anyone on Earth being harmed by pieces of the satellite falling was “low” – about 1 in 2,467.
Rhessi – short for Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager – was rocketed into orbit in 2002 to study the sun.
Before it was shut down in 2018 due to communications issues, the satellite observed solar flares as well as coronal mass ejections from the sun. It captured images in high-energy X-rays and gamma rays, recording more than 100,000 solar events.
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