Chinese Long March 8A rocket leaves luminous trail over Poland

A bright, elongated streak was observed in the night sky over southern Poland and Slovakia on Sunday, October 25. Astronomer Karol Wójcicki identified the phenomenon as the Long March 8A (Chang Zheng-8A) rocket, which had launched from Hainan Island, China, approximately 1.5 hours earlier.

The rocket was transporting nine satellites for the Guowang network, a Chinese low-Earth orbit satellite constellation designed to compete with the American Starlink system. After launching at 3:03 AM local time, the rocket traveled southeast over the Philippines, circled the globe, and passed over southern Poland at an altitude of approximately 950 km between 4:32 AM and 4:42 AM.

The visual effect was caused by sunlight reflecting off frozen gas crystals released from the rocket's upper stage as it discarded residual fuel to prevent orbital explosions. While the ground remained in darkness, the rocket's altitude allowed it to catch sunlight, creating the glowing trail visible near Krakow.