“Not a missile; preliminary evaluation suggests the thing was very doubtless house particles from a rocket burning because it descended by way of Earth’s ambiance,” Ricko Kardoso, head of BMKG’s Malang Geophysics Station, stated in Malang on Sunday.
He stated the man-made phenomenon displayed traits of a so-called “house jellyfish,” wherein rocket exhaust plumes replicate daylight and kind a luminous path throughout the sky.
“The house jellyfish impact seems as stretched gentle, creating an elongated plume tail. This phenomenon is commonly linked to rockets corresponding to China’s Lengthy March CZ-3B, whose exhaust displays daylight at excessive altitude towards a darkish sky,” Kardoso stated.
He added that comparable sightings have occurred periodically throughout Indonesia, together with in Lampung on April 4 and in Natuna, Riau Islands, on April 9 this 12 months.
Kardoso stated such occasions usually tend to be seen close to the equator, the place many satellites orbit and the place house particles can reenter the ambiance.
He urged the general public to not panic in the event that they observe comparable phenomena sooner or later.
The glowing object was reported over the skies of Slorok Village in Kromengan Subdistrict on Saturday (April 11), primarily based on an beginner video posted on Instagram by the account @malang_kidulan.
“Residents of southern Malang had been left puzzled by a celestial phenomenon suspected to be a missile at 6:46 p.m. native time. As seen within the video, the thing was shifting quick alongside a horizontal observe at a protracted distance,” the caption learn.
Associated information: Chinese language CZ5B rocket particles streaks throughout southern Sumatra’s sky: BRIN
Translator: Ananto P, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2026
