MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - A bright, slow-moving fireball streaked across the southern sky Saturday night shortly after 10 p.m. CST. This fireball left onlookers amazed and confused as to what it was.

Experts say that this was the re-entry and disintegration of a defunct Chinese commercial imaging satellite -- GaoJing 1-02 (Superview 1-02), operated by Beijing-based SpaceView.

According to NASA, this satellite was launched in 2016 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China. The satellite orbited at an altitude of around 500 km above Earth's surface before beginning to slowly fall to Earth around two years ago, according to orbit history charts.

Re-entry and disintegration of this relatively small satellite began over New Orleans and continued as the satellite traveled northward over Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri. It was visible across the entire region.

Many viewers sent photos and videos to FOX10 News as they witnessed the fiery spectacle.

Some originally speculated that it could be part of the Ursid Meteor Shower, which peaks this weekend. However, the longevity of this fireball quickly debunked that theory. Meteors and shooting stars typically move very quickly across the night sky and only last for a few seconds.

Falling space junk will typically appear as a slower-moving series of bright fragments breaking apart and burning up in the atmosphere.

Space debris like this falling back to Earth is very common. A majority of the time, the pieces of space junk disintegrate completely without any debris reaching the ground.

If you have photos or video of the fireball or anything else interesting in the sky that you would like to share, please submit it online to FOX10 News.