Mysterious beam of light in the sky over Ukraine: astronomer explained what it was
Kyiv • UNN
A strange beam of light illuminated the sky over Ukraine. This was the result of fuel dumping from the upper stage of the Chinese CZ-8A rocket.
On the night of August 26, a strange beam of light illuminated the sky over Ukraine, which was noticed in Ukraine and abroad. This was the result of fuel dumping from the upper stage of the Chinese CZ-8A rocket, launched on August 25 at 22:08 Kyiv time from the Satellite Launch Center in China. This version was confirmed by astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who comments on launches, reports UNN.
Details
The space Telegram channel Alpha Centauri initially reported that it could have been a bolide, but later refuted this assumption and indicated that it was, after all, the Chinese CZ-8A rocket.
An unknown phenomenon was recorded at night in the sky over Ukraine8/26/25, 9:39 AM • 140772 views
Probably, the shape depends to some extent on the design of the ventilation system.
Astronomer McDowell also reported on the version with the Chinese rocket. He said that the phenomenon, which was observed not only in Ukraine, was the result of fuel dumping from the upper stage of CZ-8A, launched at 19:08 UTC, observed from Germany at 20:38 UTC (22:38 CEST).
Some commentators expressed doubts under the astronomer's post that it could be fuel dumping, as the stream was too straight. However, McDowell explained that this could be caused by the peculiarity of the ventilation system's structure.
On August 25, 2025, at 19:08 UTC (August 26 at 22:08 Kyiv time), the CZ-8A was launched from the commercial spaceport LC-1 in Wenchang, Hainan Province, China. According to official sources, the satellites successfully reached their designated orbit.
The rocket delivered 9 SatNet LEO Group 10 communication satellites for China's state internet constellation into orbit.