A white streak that stretched across the French night sky on Monday sparked wide speculation. Experts say the streak seen was a fuel trail left by China’s Chang Zheng 8A (Long March 8) rocket.
The carrier launched from Hainan Island at 21:09 French time, completed one orbit, then ignited its second stage. During stage separation, outgassing released residual propellants that froze into crystals at high altitude; sunlight illuminated the frozen cloud, producing a continuous white band visible for several minutes.
“We definitely know that this light streak was caused by a Long March 8 rocket,” said Hansjürgen Köhler from the UFO reporting center CENAP, according to Spektrum der Wissenschaft. He said droplets expelled by the rocket froze in space and reflected sunlight, making the cloud visible from the ground. “The photos we received of the light streak did not match such light points,” said Köhler.
The phenomenon was seen from the southwest to the northeast of France, including Brittany, with a weather channel in Charente-Maritime noting an appearance around 22:30. Sightings were also reported over Switzerland around 22:30, as well as over Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Hesse in Germany, and parts of Austria.
“Such a release of fuel is not unusual,” said an expert from the European Space Agency, according to T-Online. Xinhua reported that the Long March 8 placed several satellites into orbit; the payload for the launch was not disclosed. It was the rocket’s fourth mission.
Previous sightings of white streaks
Similar sights had appeared over Europe before. In 2022, a luminous white object over Seine-Maritime was linked to Starlink when a stage vented excess fuel in orbit.