Between November 19 and December 7, 1996, astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia photographed an object near Earth. It appeared in one of three images they took in space.
In the second image, the object appears near Earth’s limb, slightly right of center. According to NASA’s description, it looks as though it was spinning or tumbling around its own axis. The image does not reveal what it is, but it does show motion that is hard to miss.
What the Second Image Shows
The object appears in the frame near the boundary between Earth and space. It is not exactly centered, but sits slightly to the right. That is how NASA described its position in the image.
NASA’s description says the object appears to have rotated around its central axis. An axis is an imaginary line running through an object. Put simply, the object appears to have spun around itself, rather than merely changing position in the image.
What the Motion Might Tell Us
NASA compared the motion to that of an object floating freely, or moving without being attached to anything. This is a comparison of how the object appears to move, not an identification of what it is.
That distinction matters: the image shows an object whose motion looks like a spin. But the motion alone does not tell us what the object is or how it got there. The three images captured it, but NASA’s official description does not identify it.
What We Still Don’t Know
The object’s identity remains unknown, and NASA’s description does not identify it. The apparent rotation is consistent with an object floating freely, but the description does not explain what was photographed or what caused the motion.
In the second image, a small object remains visible slightly right of center, appearing to spin. The motion is visible; the object’s identity is not.
