Overview

• Witnesses in France, the United Kingdom and multiple German regions reported a thin, luminous line moving across the night sky around 22:40–22:45 local time on August 25.
• Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell attributed the display to a fuel-venting event from the upper stage of a Chang Zheng 8A launched at about 19:08 UTC, with the release observed near 20:38 UTC.
• CENAP logged numerous sightings from locations including Sonnenbühl, Ammerbuch, Haßloch and Sinntal as reports surged late Monday.
• Initial speculation ranged from a comet to Starlink activity, and CENAP’s Hansjürgen Köhler later told media he believed a Chinese Long March 8A fuel discharge produced the trace.
• Meteorological accounts said the glow likely persisted because vented gases at high altitude were illuminated by residual sunlight, and no official confirmation from the launch operator had been reported.