Californians reported seeing a streak of light in the sky on Monday night that many believe to either be an asteroid or meteorite. The celestial occurrence was seen by people in the Bay Area at around 9 pm. Videos captured from Bethel Island in Contra Costa County and other places in Northern California show the strange light shooting in the sky.

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The American Meteor Society also gathered several videos of the fireball and posted them online. However, according to the New York-based nonprofit scientific organisation, what people saw was not a visitor from space but merely debris from a rocket or satellite. Reports suggest that the debris belonged to a satellite mission launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral on September 28 last year.

Fireball in California - Meteorite or space debris?

Experts say that the satellite is named Dragon Freedom 2 Deb, and debris from it was expected to enter Earth's atmosphere the same night since it was in a decaying orbit. But it wasn't clear where it would fall.

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Also Read: What caused the mysteriously glowing spinning orb in the UK skies?

"This was not a meteor or fireball. It was most likely the satellite known as DRAGON FREEDOM-2 DEB  that was expected to re-enter the atmosphere tonight," Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society said.

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People as far as Stanislaus, Sacramento, Fresno and even Nevada saw the fireball. 

Lunsford told ABC10 that there is an easy way to know whether a fireball is a meteorite or space debris. "Meteors enter the atmosphere at a high velocity and only last a second or two before disintegrating," he said.

"Satellites, on the other hand enter more slowly and can be visible for a minute or more before they disintegrate."

SpaceX rocket debris creates glowing spiral over UK skies

Monday night was also when people in parts of the United Kingdom reported seeing a glowing spiral that spun for some time. It was said to have occurred because of a SpaceX rocket launch in the United States that sent a spy satellite into orbit. SpaceX's Falcon 9 is a reusable rocket. 

After releasing the payload towards orbit, it returns to Earth. When it does this,  any leftover fuel is ejected into the skies. When light reflects off this fuel, it creates a strange spectacle which can look confusing to people.