A well-traveled chunk of space debris plunged to Earth off Sri Lanka early in the morning of 13 November, but cloudy weather kept researchers on the ground from collecting data.

B. Bolin, R. Jedicke, M. Micheli
The object that fell over Sri Lanka on 13 November was spotted in early October.
Scientists tried to track the piece of debris, designated WT1190F, from both an aeroplane and from the ground as it made its dive to Earth at 06:18 UK time. The object was expected to disintegrate over the Indian Ocean just off the south coast of Sri Lanka.
A team that journeyed from France to monitor the re-entry from the Sri Lankan town of Ambalangoda was foiled by clouds and rain, said team member Auriane Egal of the Paris Observatory. Sri Lankan observers at several other locations were also clouded out. But the researchers on the aeroplane may still have gotten a view from their vantage point above the clouds.

Ahead of the impact, researchers from the United States, Germany and the United Arab Emirates transformed a chartered executive jet into an observing platform outfitted with 20 cameras. The jet was slated to monitor the re-entry at an altitude of 12,000 metres from a distance of 100 to 200 kilometres.Estimated to measure 1-2 metres across, WT1190F had circled the Earth-Moon system since at least 2009, says independent astronomy-software developer Bill Gray, who has been working with NASA to track the debris. It most likely came off a recent lunar spacecraft, but it is not out of the question that it could have dated to the Apollo era.
Researchers hoped to gather spectroscopic data to reveal the chemical composition of the object, which could help identity it. Any images of the breakup will provide clues about its structure and mechanical properties. Such information could prove useful for analysis of asteroids that target Earth.
But the jet’s orientation had to be just right — a challenge given the possibility of bad weather. “We’re working with commercial pilots who’ve never done this before, so it will be very interesting to see how this comes together,” said NASA astronomer Peter Jenniskens before the flight.
Jenniskens and his colleagues were expected to land in Abu Dhabi sometime after 10:30 UK time