UFO-like object crashes through Beijing sky

China A mysterious glowing object flying across the sky over Beijing has sparked speculation about a UFO, but experts say it could be a remnant from a SpaceX rocket.

Strange object in the sky over Beijing on January 14. Photo: Weibo — Strange object in the sky over Beijing on January 14. Photo: *Weibo*

Residents in Beijing and elsewhere in China encountered mysterious flying objects late last week. The unusual object quickly became a hot topic on Chinese social media, with more than 900,000 posts, according to Interesting Engineering .

Witnesses observed and took photos of the unidentified flying object in the sky at around 6 p.m. local time on January 14. A resident said that the weather in Beijing that day was clear and cloudless, and the object was glowing but not flashing. It had three light sources and was shaped like an isosceles triangle, and eventually dissipated like mist and disappeared without a trace.

Many residents in Tianjin, Shanxi and Shandong also reported UFOs. Witnesses often described the object as a “dim ball of light” that flew quickly from west to east without making any sound. Some observers even ruled out the possibility of it being an aircraft because they did not see any flashing lights.

Wang Zhuoxiao, a researcher at the Center for Astronomy Technology at Tsinghua University in Beijing, offered a possible explanation. He suggested that the mysterious object could be the remains of a rocket launch, specifically the one that deployed SpaceX's latest Starlink satellite constellation.

Wang explained that the flight path of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California took it over northern China at a 53-degree angle to the south. Wang noted that after deploying the satellites, the rocket likely dumped excess fuel, a process that could scatter light and create a cloud around the rocket. The unusual shape observed in the "cloud" could be due to the rocket's downward motion to release more fuel.

Another astronomer at the Beijing Planetarium, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also supported the theory. According to him, a similar sighting in northern China on September 13, 2023, was also related to the rocket cloud that formed after the launch.

An Khang (According to Interesting Engineering )

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