Residents across Kazakhstan, the Urals, and southern Russia reported sightings of a glowing object with a long trail on the evening of October 12. According to Arthur Gayduk, founder of the Astro Astana astronomy school, the phenomenon was likely caused by the third stage of a Chinese Kuaizhou-11 carrier rocket burning up in the atmosphere.
The rocket originally launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on September 17. Gayduk noted that rocket stages often remain in orbit for several weeks before re-entering the atmosphere, particularly third stages that travel at high velocities at significant altitudes.
While residents in cities such as Astana, Kokshetau, Petropavlovsk, and Kostanay shared video footage of the event, it remains unconfirmed if all reports refer to the same object. Separately, an unusual glow observed in Kazakhstan on October 8 was attributed to urban light reflecting off low-hanging clouds under specific weather conditions.
