Mass UFO Sighting in Chile: A Chinese Rocket May Be Behind the Mysterious Light

4 min read

On the night of October 24 into October 25, an expanding, bright phenomenon in the sky was filmed in several regions of Chile, and the videos spread as a mass UFO sighting. That same night, China launched a Long March 8A carrier rocket. The connection is obvious, but no one has officially confirmed it yet.

What did people see?

On the night of October 24 into October 25, many people in central and southern Chile noticed an unusual light phenomenon. According to the reports, the light was visible for only a few minutes, but even in that time a great many videos were made of it.

The footage came from several regions:

Valparaíso Region: San Antonio, Concón, Hijuelas
Ñuble Region: Chillán
Biobío Region: Talcahuano
Los Lagos Region: Osorno

The videos show a bright phenomenon that seemed to spread out and expand across the dark sky. Because of the many recordings made at the same time, social media quickly labeled the event a mass UFO sighting.

The videos

The footage was collected by, among others, a Chilean TikTok account called Tío Ovni. From videos sent in by its followers, it put together a compilation of about ten minutes showing what the phenomenon looked like from different parts of the country. The compilation can also be viewed on the website of the Chilean radio station Radio Imagina (see the links among the sources).

The Chinese rocket

That same night, at 10:03 a.m. Beijing time on October 25, the Long March 8A carrier rocket lifted off from the Hainan commercial spaceport in Wenchang. This was 02:03 UTC, and late in the evening of October 24 in Chile.

According to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the rocket successfully placed the 28th satellite group of China's satellite internet network into orbit, in low Earth orbit. This was the 674th launch of the Long March rocket family. The launch was also confirmed by the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA). According to the agency, the rocket's jettisoned parts were expected to fall into designated maritime zones near the Philippines.

The Long March 8A is a two-stage, liquid-fueled rocket with two boosters. It is one of the main tools for building out China's low-orbit satellite networks, and this year it has already placed several satellite groups into orbit.

Not the first time

This is not the first time a Chinese rocket has caused a UFO scare in Chile.

May 2024: A bright beam of light was observed from Antofagasta to La Araucanía. According to the science outreach organization Red Geocientífica de Chile, it was a Long March 3B/E rocket launched from China's Xichang space center. According to the organization, the sight was most likely caused by the rocket's upper stage and the residual gases.
On another occasion, a bright object was likewise reported from several Chilean towns. Red Geocientífica de Chile identified it as the flight of a Long March 4B rocket launched from China's Taiyuan space center.

The essence of the phenomenon is that the gases released by the rocket form a cloud at high altitude. If the Sun is still or already illuminating this cloud up there while it is already dark on the ground, the cloud scatters the light and is visible from hundreds of kilometers away.

What is still missing?

The rocket explanation is obvious, but it has not yet been officially confirmed. According to the Chilean press, the connection still needs to be verified technically. This would require comparing the exact time and direction of the light's appearance with the trajectory of the rocket's upper stage.

In Chile, such cases are handled by the Committee for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena (CEFAA), which belongs to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC). According to the available information, it has not yet issued an official statement on the case.

The sober take

What is certain: on the night of October 24 into October 25, an expanding light visible for a few minutes was filmed in several regions of Chile, from places far apart from one another. That same night, late in the evening of October 24 Chilean time, China launched a Long March 8A rocket.

What is not proven: that the two are connected. No one has yet publicly compared the exact time and direction of the light's appearance with the rocket's trajectory, and the Chilean authorities have not commented either.

In favor of the rocket explanation is that the phenomenon fits earlier cases. In Chile, similar lights were filmed in 2024 and at other times, and were later identified as Chinese rockets. An expanding, "spreading" light is characteristic of rocket exhaust clouds illuminated by sunlight at high altitude. Another indication is that a similar phenomenon was seen from places hundreds of kilometers apart, which points to a light source at a very high altitude.

Other explanations cannot be completely ruled out either, such as the atmospheric reentry of an upper stage or another spacecraft. Only a comparison of the exact times and directions can settle this. Until that happens, the case is officially unidentified, but its known features point to a rocket launch.