<p>That is a re-entry of an artifical satellite, or rocket body. (As Darth Pseudonym mentions, its actually the upper stage from the Soyuz MS-25 launched two days earlier).</p>
<p>It's certainly not a comet.  Comets don't move over a few seconds. They are in orbit around the sun and so they appear to move about as fast as the planets do, and usually more slowly than the moon. They are also usually faint. Pons Brooks, for example would be close to invisible in the light polluted sky of a city, even at its brightest (which isn't for 3 months). Whatever website said that this is a comet is pretty useless.</p>
<p>It looks rather similar to a natural meteor. But meteors, which come from deep space, are normally moving much faster, and so glow brighter, but also are destroyed more quickly.  You don't normally see the break-up and several glowing chunks. Instead you just see a streak, or sometimes a streak and an explosion.</p>
<p>So this is a satellite or rocket re-entry. There are lots of other videos eg <div class="youtube-embed"><div>
                <iframe width="640px" height="395px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OhBw5yaR_SU?start=0"></iframe>
            </div></div></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-27T12:55:20.173Z
ATV-1 in the video cation refers to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne_ATV
mb21
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-26T12:16:11.077Z
2024-03-27T14:18:11.130Z
2024-03-27T14:18:11.130Z
James K
<p>Objects that shed a lot of bits like that and move relatively slowly are usually human-made space junk from low-earth orbit that has slowed down enough to reenter and burn up.</p>
<p>It's definitely not a comet; comets look like a narrow triangular blur or cloud, and move across the sky over the course of days or weeks, not seconds. The movement is usually only visible by comparing its position across many nights.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/resource/comet-c2020-f3-neowise-over-utah/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this photo published on NASA's website</a>:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/sJQUG.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/sJQUG.jpg" alt="Comet NEOWISE" /></a></p>
<p>There's some possibility that this is a meteor, but as meteors are moving at solar-orbit speeds on a different orbit than Earth, they usually move much faster across the sky and rarely shatter into pieces like that -- a meteor that breaks up <em>usually</em> looks like a fireball rather than visibly separate pieces of material on parallel courses, as in the case of the Chelyabinsk meteor in 2013:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/vNzlp.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/vNzlp.png" alt="The Chelyabinsk meteor" /></a></p>
<p>Given the speed and the visible breakup, a meteor is a possibility, but it's just much less likely than the reentry of a complex manmade object like a rocket stage or an old satellite.</p>
<p>But, since we know these images were taken in Khabarovsk, Russia on March 25th 2024, the object can be pretty solidly identified as the upper stage from the Soyuz MS-25 launch on the 23rd. It took a couple of days for the orbit to drop enough to hit thick atmosphere and burn up spectacularly.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-29T10:13:52.073Z
I don't understand the argument that Khavarovsk implies it is a Russian rocket.  A rocket part orbits the Earth many times in 2 days.  There is no reason for it to reenter near the place it was launched.
Florian F
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-29T14:56:38.783Z
We (national militaries, astronomers, etc) track pretty much all the rocket stages and satellites in orbit, so "something happened over Khabarovsk on this day and time" is a simple matter of checking whether any tracked objects were in that area and low enough to reenter, and there was one, which originated from the Soyuz launch. It's more or less coincidence that a Russian rocket part reentered over Russia (but not entirely; space programs generally plan where their debris is going to end up, if only to avoid dropping something on another country and causing an incident).
Darth Pseudonym
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-29T15:01:19.070Z
China is a notable exception, in that they have been strongly criticized lately for letting rocket stages just kinda come down wherever they happen to be with no apparent planning. That sort of thing tends to makes other countries annoyed.
Darth Pseudonym
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-26T18:30:43.583Z
2024-03-27T21:05:37.503Z
2024-03-27T21:05:37.503Z
Darth Pseudonym
<p>As James K said, that's no comet. ;)</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12P/Pons%E2%80%93Brooks" rel="nofollow noreferrer">12P/Pons–Brooks</a> is a relatively bright comet, but it's certainly not <em>that</em> bright.</p>
<p>On 2024-Mar-26, JPL updated the trajectory data for this comet, which has ID <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons.api?format=text&amp;MAKE_EPHEM=NO&amp;COMMAND=90000223" rel="nofollow noreferrer">90000223</a>.</p>
<p>Its orbit has high inclination (74.19°), and it's approaching the ecliptic from the north. It reaches perihelion on 2024-Apr-21. Here's a <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Horizons</a> plot showing its orbit (purple) and Earth's (blue), using a 5 day time step for 180 days either side of that date, from 2023-Oct-24 to 2024-Oct-18. Plot points are at 0:00 TT. Numeric labels are every 30 days. The orange dot is the Sun, the grey plane is the ecliptic, the dark vertical line is the J2000 equinox line (the +X axis of the ecliptic and equatorial coordinate systems).</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/65g8c.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/65g8c.png" alt="Comet Pons-Brooks &amp; Earth, 2024" /></a></p>
<p>It looks better in the <a href="https://sagecell.sagemath.org/?z=eJydGNty4kb2XV%5FRkWcjiZFlwPZkhy3VBttyxbu2oYCaZJahqAYaI0eoNd0tX8sftN%2DxP5ZzuhsBxk6qlsJCOvc%2Dd9l1XdJjSqTsjpE7NlVckBlVlMwFX5JfuEifeC7JHMA8ZwR%2Dllwwoqi4YYpM%2DCxl0iHwESyjKgUhihOaEz6RTNwBhOdkynLFRAjgGVELlk8ZKTKu8J4oQW%2D11pWcNCeHZ6SUaX5DTv7336eUCTItxR2Tkcb%5FmqoFETTNJ%5FyeTHmGhhWoJnIMXqRKsZxMHkn3ijR7KKdZbzaj%2Dk9Ro%2DG4rus46bLgQoHJIfx9L5lU0tHnnZc52MIzSSxJJsrxlE4XzOBTOMcWvhB8Vk6V45QiIzFxF0oVsnVwIOUsui2yKKeSRjf87oAW6cHCenM8TzMWAcR14DK%2DY0Kim4C9EdXBvAmVbDxdzhAC5l61%5F52Mk%2D4vyVX8Nek7nZN%5Fjc%5Fag3Z83XF6yfm4%5F7U%5FANTFae%5Fc0VTjwdduEn9JTgedXt%2DB3%5FGgfXKZxE19f9rp9YD1OtFPl%2D2T5LKPok77X8bnnd5Ve6C1aD%5F9XB3fX9IHmT6xOM2V32gGgTNjczJnaroYY7r4JiHCKtZFRnNwrwS4wh9e4JUVQUtHyZxujlpOO1dX7euz2Hs2Ml485zS5HiQ9gBhpAMGDdi%5Fb1wkAtWiA9Qft3mA8uLhCoFakgZ3uGsYLDUq64%5F7FfwyIIQj1bprxw4cP%5Fc75Mzy%2DPK%2D8%5FwLApHNuCPcKgScHcGCz%5FTswrpInKrhUPqRAqGsnfvagXpZUeS3iKfagvJeQYMwlYNK8KBHheyDMC9GE4MUIXSeCYJFkVEwXvnDb3QvyJen1LzrXrW%2Dy5n%5Fr1wJXJ26EsoPoRvCy8BtGRjqvxPwQk430Mn7HjznK3P2Vihyqo0VQw4opleTZ3oPRkxKrFGByKtJCIRY7wfOG3Bc3MIW3fGW3%5F08ZfPvwDRyb%2DFFN3yadZNPylcFLlHsN7eW1je51h%2DiUTnoXfTd4hd2WY6KiSpFrURqmG1lMlpWLho3WyNkMaCXjH1ao9zfikRo5qhupWZozaSKt6SJZZKnSUN9QWEu%5F5W50y9Pc17jhcatxPAqsZwSUyo5v0gByOukl16cJOe%2D1rxICRUBOO53e2cV1e5D0tdNkrf%2D4nPCMLBnFYL0feGtHj82Z0C32XNAlIy3NMV9lrfYPusXRBQxiBJ0qU8J4CQlUID5Crp7TTDJbr9aT%2DLPrAoscSoPyvdALhq39xkgni8SWjiQj43iECejdFtpaRZPfW3dBMYVE3ShdTNr7w1Fo%5FzTBawlV%5FCGXKvPXUGsiDBBaFCyfQeo%5FA%5FuwMXohz%5FOMU618WB8FLxs5tkcS4xy0J9Vz7EeokoxPU%5FW4zjgwA%2DwzUspAm1aiYSix2RqN1jnLK%5F1mzGqlrUPMkhUNHPoNmsPWKIhybCgZdOCZH2wF85W3HGePnJRpNiMnbGN26mhP2JO%5FIrdxhccxPMEZntJijTS4OjzUAZVDmviW0uo2xy7q5nxGhw5UFSDo9wodYfnW4UA6OpF%2DQfZBRUAOyOGmOyNQhg4A4eQj6K%2DBSUiq9M1o7Sy7FFh%5F6fR5FZUN56%2DOglZtes96B5x2Jug9obh7TPhDSO5xzeCFjj2DPUPk0O4A%5FyOZaF%5Fep4KNgdKHkpmEpFb7%5Fd669A5V1%2Dxi4NfQr0gTBMacLqCxeA7hiHfD1NRIip7y62EjPAybYT0YWYmW4%2DO7LEfhcfhT%2DCk8eoNFlkvfsimL1Jw6LGjW3bB1BGx3w6PWaDupujD7Uxy9kP%5F6uEtYuHyg0GM2dmGhOtzvTNV%2D84gMBq4Z8Bp8pMGNv7tm3Mfu8cwNgdFM8tht1AFjBr2M3cPPn0PyuQ6fZvNQ0xU0Y7C%5Fxe7enELQ9urHc7jS%2Dlxj7d4XD0TJNDWuAnGfZaZahl4yzWBOpVMYrJ5ugHhzwmePJPleUqDx4MDS0o%5FVY8FiT9BZyr0A5T08VqJ1ZpgnMuNgrLnVS9CnkGR0wrKxPuInJJ%2DjMtMysRLF75aeloqPywJrs2qoq7mXww7so2xcq7W%2DYGcCmrMRCqsoo1KZJXxOtrjc1xPQaFitYjs7GGSgwUUSFv%5FCDyzN5iMvNp9Y9bQhGcR4P3tQpObRKLWhtePA8KzHgMVuzAlTFDbq73BZ7BaXUbZgS2Ty0OEeuhRvCAM3Ey9LbxbKs9OenIKNwmwFXNwAD1QbwW9QVWUB41tBsQDexhkvtUZ0HJoXjdgagqPCqRrdbUjW2y%2DSBWgzy8sllI9iPlaaPXe4OgruIcFGsO0E%5FX%5F26c3hp8Xs7FIbebFBe0vimNT1O9k6l3FnrG9z7k7jP10aMOvXNmEk3hM3%5FitRplycrQNC2m%5FLA6BtCtvwrVPuovADEcJezHKcbcGbJDqeOpkXJfPTA2AJ1t1X0PyG%2DQgb7XBXHXiVVcVGTq3yafqWVjs8p6surT1mDAm26Xe9W2mutCLzrl6dplue1Y1kW5gWNNFbBEjaWh7%2DRNA6md6Qhg7B3RXkpSGecs5zpc1zH%5FYlLDiZ%2D9ol2tu4AmwVFVgybLXWuqpd%2Dx0Lqi39EpFy511ivb8PYTtMW4cvLfIsX1xnxxC5bYhO1VemVMZMYEGA5OlGE17mM1jf9cYQ2Jb021dT1Su7Hx7X9pogZhw9BV2qNtR7RA0FBqNhqzlaRcDdo5TCSOUFxcU0rkfN45WCwYKRj78R%2DpDK3UVCdzl8rff3USr0NPiG2mTYjLHF2f64oer4%2DNit3tr0xHtlcbUVaUsrxhvBWL56T%2DxGcsHv%5Fa2BqRt5rK8h%5Fk8F%5FyUEG3fscaEW%5FEbQYqFnOs%5FRfNtk%5FgBoqIDl&amp;lang=sage" rel="nofollow noreferrer">interactive 3D view</a>. There's some info about an earlier version of my plotting script <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/49823/16685">here</a>. This version also has a &quot;rainbow&quot; option, which gives dots equal hues at equal times.</p>
<p>It's also interesting to look at the geocentric trajectory of the comet. Just make Earth (ID 399) the Center, and make the Sun (ID 10) one of the Targets.</p>
<hr />
<p>Here's a plot showing the comet's estimated total magnitude, once again using a 5 day time step. Plot points are at 0:00 UTC.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/zNUXz.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/zNUXz.png" alt="Comet magnitude" /></a></p>
<p>Here's a plot of the ecliptic latitude and longitude of the Sun and 12P/Pons–Brooks, using the same time step.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/IAgKo.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/IAgKo.png" alt="Ecliptic lat &amp; lon, Sun &amp; comet" /></a></p>
<p>This table shows the date corresponding to each numeric label.</p>
<div class="s-table-container"><table class="s-table">
<thead>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center;">Label</th>
<th style="text-align: center;">Date</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">0</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2024-Mar-01</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">1</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2024-Mar-16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2024-Mar-31</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">3</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2024-Apr-15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">4</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2024-Apr-30</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">5</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2024-May-15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">6</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2024-May-30</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">7</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2024-Jun-14</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table></div>
<p>The magnitude plotting script can be found at the end of <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/55178/16685">this answer</a>. Note that for comets, the nuclear magnitude replaces the surface brightness. Please see the Horizons manual for details.</p>
<p>The latitude-longitude script is <a href="https://sagecell.sagemath.org/?z=eJydGGlz27j1O38FAqcr0qEZSY53Gs1wNkpWyXobW6ql7s7WVjmUBEqISYJLQD7H%5F73vAaBIyk47rTPh8fDum6KUkgumSs5uGBktU14oviSpyNdcbVeMxPmKpLEyL0kpMvKLKPmDyCVJREliouJyzRRZiNW9Q%2DCvZIgOzJQAYiIWkpU3PF%2DTJcsVKzXDIhWKcBVogrNtqniRMstJOhr6e8mVYjlZ3JPJGelfIId%2Dt98Luu%2DD3ntDKFY84WylFQGNyQ%2DoKWIdB92ToN93KKWOw7NClAr08uH%5Fn1smQYQ2JNnmSyVEKolFSctttIyXG2bOs1ihoilfBOCTa9Dd4k2XcRqXn0UJGGCS4yTVIwn3D92tZOMkkUyFn%2DNUMs9xtmUKeHSjVCEHb99KuQq%2DFWmQxzIO1uLmbVzwtxvr5CjhKQsAQh24RDeslBwsBXLwBBi3iCWLltkKIWDs2fBvo2g0%2DWV0Fv4xmjr6KZr9MRmF44%5FT0cVvowvn7%5F8Yns9OZ6ejaXjccz4Nv0afxxdnw1kIj%5FpVo3%2D5GH0ZX5wOz51P098qDGQ5%5Fvhr9PNwNgzPx8a9H3Zec7P4TvIHFvJcucee56xYQhKmlptoFavYNfH1bSL4RAJA4U0UeGVwBfsWQrJwVm6ZN9BRNsYlKOvV69fT8WfnsTL6yfk0Pjsbnv8cdh4N86eO82l0PhtdAMSIAch0NryYRbPTsxFAtVANHE9qmCg0aDSJpqf%5FNCCGIJA4AokoHHU5KEq0DUR7Ntf%5FBN2qrAoKIZUL0fUJ2hs%2DdkxedAako9id6jz5BMMp4YTnxRYP3A4w6%5FhopfdkmNYxLlkgWVwuN25Jh5NTAuGbno7PB1fy0L2aHnpUZ3SAvL1gXYpt4fYMD57s2LwKSSNzjE%5Fxz5iS0N%5FjMofiGhCUUBFxSR7tMyi92CqiNgCTyxL6A55iyT02%2DD5Rz9Rttqe3%2D5P0rl5fQeBGbnCoH0fjUVPzSuEM%2DZ6LnO3rSM%5FHRGfy6OJ0Sr290zYfExW1LXPNyml4AxNrn3WbmKVNjJTnTJrwapxAFilXGuruK0Gvchp8Ezx39fnlyaD349yzLsFkAD7ZLkSXvcFcn9jeue%2DxzPvXrO6qJI8zpmMeHP7kwf3q8fuBt032BY6fzMn%5FzNF6E43wSbuEHV3hQFLGS2Vq3KDBlZmCVjxj0idCd0Bb0dYfeHvuU3t4Kc2R2%5FE73uXgqDfXKQet2qhi%5FHeAsFLcVtBBFVZxa7gdGO1NHKA8rWooYO7Dfw1HJtyv%2DLB8m7ESsLQtXp0PB2RkLCXs%2DZj8YTck6%5FwRua8HEnSvVMRaq8vjuec3Xt%5FN60yCLDVuqkVaNsDBxdsb0vtr1yN%5FIcc%5FdskRvtRpKCRMiYLlK9etBFf5Z5Q%5Fi6%2DZCYeKs0I2xVbh0rOZA%5F8dIAxJt61O7QWYcyAuLjV2C%2Dc%2DW%5Flkk%2DniASO7cxtLr4Wl8BxQW0DQRuvYFmrR38CQg39vkLdlSQPIXKio7rxFoA2oHKKkdYTmXMS5nid6xD9ijIFY6whLUOF6T7i4GDhkXfOANuuhTiZ%5Fx9fUg0xFwdyi65OiZ9OHzjbMwCHE0EqZbi5mnSq6KLDoGe53QHbfBQULE9u7Hrz38L3XlO4C7AgQPfKWuHf4fNf1jPgFe3BBOSv5gAyLohR3HOYQblj5GioXVJZsGcMDgfQEF5lsUGulK0%5Frf1h4ujAKrIkHsF8bDJfL%5FmDuzV8igLNBH84gQHjypnVyZMisUh%2D3PF2Rj%2DyBQ0tabssbZlUoboAjijvUFzTER24mdZT2DqwJ6KEcGo8LBLbxaSa6sI2joJrhxTUkXl3p0L3ugQOaBcR1nq3QFgWeVHVVre6wTylw8nENQwWgh4aoxSGgIDO81%5FNH3AagG6YeygdHINK9fgBVfOKiGA3D%2D72GwIvXaAbGnCqDd%5F2sYVmd8C2vWPOayWL963zg2LShdHWeZDFMK9PHQ%5Frh%2DP17WrV3GdIesHvfhb9%2D%5F5j6wKyAYod1NqQHyQmcHcTdRMP1OhVS2LnfHZ3F5VGPmoXOgn7d5ke9d9SsdyE9WdFqFugVDzlUvSY8toVk9mTwsQBNNJaxwD7HsmAwbaBDcxH2tA64c%5Fb6IORmXRFXi6R9jbdKRNsCZdk1fLBbDXL4FnFRGBE2F71nG8iUpSAUqyVlsVQEVgus5BYV3d9AjIQJBOVLGRcbvsQZ15jSL2zAdvKZhmPZ7eae%2D10yr7lOyBaTmtyeNuaqobKh%5FQ6VPW1R7WrpG2ZutRKIVJRee4JiDVuxfsXJa3i3ZBI%2D%5FrAd%5F19fCfbeGqGW5bNVsg5mJYAOAIWwYsNAW8DXm0citvnqFW1PqmY4dQto7EIR7lKVtvpFL1%2DohPOSXI3SGMyg8rcw3BuyLw0XYPsfNi3Mwt7%2DurXj2V5sdxKi%5F8YdKt0WUMWxtTZA9re5TnBEF7AGK2nmhS7NE5scoUmRJgtdOC%5FwWOjJEBWx2rjVQNvjsiPCfDdrQcPDQQFZw6FF5C51aWs%5F0AJw0XXtQOvOW6xhdTEf3ypOozjl6zyD4IY0ZYmiex6w3n%5FBArnNXC0ENktI2QTYaWdQmcVpSvckQibDPtmWtxBKiWwvFXfbatGuND18B5U%2Du08PiyyfLbZMPmtyiLdblFTK9Jb0wi9C9aoLvRgWCZabReaxUQNPV%5FljlVp2b7q%2DhehgrFZ8qdxaTKiv4KES6F7q8c0XTPMONnNYZ%5Fiy41sT1iVf6Y%2DIkGY8FyWOMr68jna%5Fy4T9w8vdy7wii%2D%2DYjNJ4AeURXtKvlYVATb9WJlJIjgZeZIZN0DvBb%5Fm1fsOLidIkiHQVRde3KxmYeeMaw6uA2A5Bqx94AhhaFHMJ7rpOG0dFvra%5FO0wCGd8wNzHNw2YfUNQxvOVqQ2Dbyg0SmFBSDwOU7CdnSDYqS90kKFm8cj3DTm7ErTvxnH8DuEv3rg==&amp;lang=sage" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>. It's a minor update to the script in <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/55620/16685">this answer</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-26T14:13:03.283Z
2024-03-27T10:24:02.150Z
2024-03-27T10:24:02.150Z
PM 2Ring
<p>Some news channels published a video of an unusual phenomenon. The description says it's Comet Pons Brooks, but the comet looks completely different. There are other videos of this kind on YouTube, the phenomenon is not unique. What is this phenomenon? How is it explained?
Screenshots:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/oLS17.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/oLS17.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/M8fwT.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/M8fwT.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://t.me/c/1333788481/1673" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://t.me/c/1333788481/1673</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-26T12:17:50.743Z
That link seems to be to a site called "Telegram", which I've never heard of.  Anyway, it doesn't work for me.
James K
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-26T12:26:25.887Z
@JamesK [Telegram is a cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging app which is more popular in parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, with India leading in number of users.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegram_(software))
Nilay Ghosh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-26T14:18:16.470Z
Do we know what date this happened and what city this is?  We could probably identify exactly what man-made object is reentering there.
Darth Pseudonym
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-26T16:26:44.837Z
@Darth Pseudonym date 25.03.24 yesterday
Vladimir Orlov
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-26T16:35:48.320Z
@Darth Pseudonym city Khabarovsk, date 25.03 yesterday
Vladimir Orlov
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-26T18:08:08.877Z
Appears to have been the upper stage from the Soyuz MS-25 launch on the 23rd. The Soyuz capsule itself will be staying at the ISS until late September.
Darth Pseudonym
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-27T10:11:09.880Z
as the location is apparently Khabarovsk it's worth noting that Telegram is extremely popular in Russia, occupying a similar social space to Twitter (or at least what Twitter used to occupy) in the West, or WeiBo & WeChat in China
Tristan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-28T13:35:50.530Z
@Tristan Telegram is an instant messenger, so it's more like WhatsApp than Twitter.
Ruslan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-28T13:50:33.577Z
@Ruslan yes, but many public bodies, companies, organisations, etc run telegram channels to make public announcements in a way that is broadly analogous to how their American counterparts would use their Twitter feed
Tristan
<amateur-observing><comets>
What is this celestial phenomenon in the video?
Vladimir Orlov
# What is this celestial phenomenon in the video?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-03-26)

Some news channels published a video of an unusual phenomenon. The description says it's Comet Pons Brooks, but the comet looks completely different. There are other videos of this kind on YouTube, the phenomenon is not unique. What is this phenomenon? How is it explained?
Screenshots:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/oLS17.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/oLS17.jpg)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/M8fwT.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/M8fwT.jpg)

Source: <https://t.me/c/1333788481/1673>

**Tags:** amateur-observing, comets
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: That link seems to be to a site called "Telegram", which I've never heard of.  Anyway, it doesn't work for me.  
> **username_2**: @JamesK [Telegram is a cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging app which is more popular in parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, with India leading in number of users.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegram_(software))  
> **username_3**: Do we know what date this happened and what city this is?  We could probably identify exactly what man-made object is reentering there.  
> **username_0**: @Darth Pseudonym date 25.03.24 yesterday  
> **username_0**: @Darth Pseudonym city Khabarovsk, date 25.03 yesterday  
> **username_3**: Appears to have been the upper stage from the Soyuz MS-25 launch on the 23rd. The Soyuz capsule itself will be staying at the ISS until late September.  
> **username_4**: as the location is apparently Khabarovsk it's worth noting that Telegram is extremely popular in Russia, occupying a similar social space to Twitter (or at least what Twitter used to occupy) in the West, or WeiBo & WeChat in China  
> **username_5**: @Tristan Telegram is an instant messenger, so it's more like WhatsApp than Twitter.  
> **username_4**: @Ruslan yes, but many public bodies, companies, organisations, etc run telegram channels to make public announcements in a way that is broadly analogous to how their American counterparts would use their Twitter feed  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-03-26. Score: 21

That is a re-entry of an artifical satellite, or rocket body. (As Darth Pseudonym mentions, its actually the upper stage from the Soyuz MS-25 launched two days earlier).

It's certainly not a comet. Comets don't move over a few seconds. They are in orbit around the sun and so they appear to move about as fast as the planets do, and usually more slowly than the moon. They are also usually faint. Pons Brooks, for example would be close to invisible in the light polluted sky of a city, even at its brightest (which isn't for 3 months). Whatever website said that this is a comet is pretty useless.

It looks rather similar to a natural meteor. But meteors, which come from deep space, are normally moving much faster, and so glow brighter, but also are destroyed more quickly. You don't normally see the break-up and several glowing chunks. Instead you just see a streak, or sometimes a streak and an explosion.

So this is a satellite or rocket re-entry. There are lots of other videos eg

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: ATV-1 in the video cation refers to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne_ATV  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-03-26. Score: 9

Objects that shed a lot of bits like that and move relatively slowly are usually human-made space junk from low-earth orbit that has slowed down enough to reenter and burn up.

It's definitely not a comet; comets look like a narrow triangular blur or cloud, and move across the sky over the course of days or weeks, not seconds. The movement is usually only visible by comparing its position across many nights.

For example, [this photo published on NASA's website](https://science.nasa.gov/resource/comet-c2020-f3-neowise-over-utah/):
[![Comet NEOWISE](https://i.sstatic.net/sJQUG.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/sJQUG.jpg)

There's some possibility that this is a meteor, but as meteors are moving at solar-orbit speeds on a different orbit than Earth, they usually move much faster across the sky and rarely shatter into pieces like that -- a meteor that breaks up *usually* looks like a fireball rather than visibly separate pieces of material on parallel courses, as in the case of the Chelyabinsk meteor in 2013:
[![The Chelyabinsk meteor](https://i.sstatic.net/vNzlp.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/vNzlp.png)

Given the speed and the visible breakup, a meteor is a possibility, but it's just much less likely than the reentry of a complex manmade object like a rocket stage or an old satellite.

But, since we know these images were taken in Khabarovsk, Russia on March 25th 2024, the object can be pretty solidly identified as the upper stage from the Soyuz MS-25 launch on the 23rd. It took a couple of days for the orbit to drop enough to hit thick atmosphere and burn up spectacularly.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: I don't understand the argument that Khavarovsk implies it is a Russian rocket.  A rocket part orbits the Earth many times in 2 days.  There is no reason for it to reenter near the place it was launched.  
> **username_3**: We (national militaries, astronomers, etc) track pretty much all the rocket stages and satellites in orbit, so "something happened over Khabarovsk on this day and time" is a simple matter of checking whether any tracked objects were in that area and low enough to reenter, and there was one, which originated from the Soyuz launch. It's more or less coincidence that a Russian rocket part reentered over Russia (but not entirely; space programs generally plan where their debris is going to end up, if only to avoid dropping something on another country and causing an incident).  
> **username_3**: China is a notable exception, in that they have been strongly criticized lately for letting rocket stages just kinda come down wherever they happen to be with no apparent planning. That sort of thing tends to makes other countries annoyed.  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2024-03-26. Score: 6

As James K said, that's no comet. ;)

[12P/Pons–Brooks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12P/Pons%E2%80%93Brooks) is a relatively bright comet, but it's certainly not *that* bright.

On 2024-Mar-26, JPL updated the trajectory data for this comet, which has ID [90000223](https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons.api?format=text&MAKE_EPHEM=NO&COMMAND=90000223).

Its orbit has high inclination (74.19°), and it's approaching the ecliptic from the north. It reaches perihelion on 2024-Apr-21. Here's a [Horizons](https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/) plot showing its orbit (purple) and Earth's (blue), using a 5 day time step for 180 days either side of that date, from 2023-Oct-24 to 2024-Oct-18. Plot points are at 0:00 TT. Numeric labels are every 30 days. The orange dot is the Sun, the grey plane is the ecliptic, the dark vertical line is the J2000 equinox line (the +X axis of the ecliptic and equatorial coordinate systems).

[![Comet Pons-Brooks & Earth, 2024](https://i.sstatic.net/65g8c.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/65g8c.png)

It looks better in the [interactive 3D view](https://sagecell.sagemath.org/?z=eJydGNty4kb2XV%5FRkWcjiZFlwPZkhy3VBttyxbu2oYCaZJahqAYaI0eoNd0tX8sftN%2DxP5ZzuhsBxk6qlsJCOvc%2Dd9l1XdJjSqTsjpE7NlVckBlVlMwFX5JfuEifeC7JHMA8ZwR%2Dllwwoqi4YYpM%2DCxl0iHwESyjKgUhihOaEz6RTNwBhOdkynLFRAjgGVELlk8ZKTKu8J4oQW%2D11pWcNCeHZ6SUaX5DTv7336eUCTItxR2Tkcb%5FmqoFETTNJ%5FyeTHmGhhWoJnIMXqRKsZxMHkn3ijR7KKdZbzaj%2Dk9Ro%2DG4rus46bLgQoHJIfx9L5lU0tHnnZc52MIzSSxJJsrxlE4XzOBTOMcWvhB8Vk6V45QiIzFxF0oVsnVwIOUsui2yKKeSRjf87oAW6cHCenM8TzMWAcR14DK%2DY0Kim4C9EdXBvAmVbDxdzhAC5l61%5F52Mk%2D4vyVX8Nek7nZN%5Fjc%5Fag3Z83XF6yfm4%5F7U%5FANTFae%5Fc0VTjwdduEn9JTgedXt%2DB3%5FGgfXKZxE19f9rp9YD1OtFPl%2D2T5LKPok77X8bnnd5Ve6C1aD%5F9XB3fX9IHmT6xOM2V32gGgTNjczJnaroYY7r4JiHCKtZFRnNwrwS4wh9e4JUVQUtHyZxujlpOO1dX7euz2Hs2Ml485zS5HiQ9gBhpAMGDdi%5Fb1wkAtWiA9Qft3mA8uLhCoFakgZ3uGsYLDUq64%5F7FfwyIIQj1bprxw4cP%5Fc75Mzy%2DPK%2D8%5FwLApHNuCPcKgScHcGCz%5FTswrpInKrhUPqRAqGsnfvagXpZUeS3iKfagvJeQYMwlYNK8KBHheyDMC9GE4MUIXSeCYJFkVEwXvnDb3QvyJen1LzrXrW%2Dy5n%5Fr1wJXJ26EsoPoRvCy8BtGRjqvxPwQk430Mn7HjznK3P2Vihyqo0VQw4opleTZ3oPRkxKrFGByKtJCIRY7wfOG3Bc3MIW3fGW3%5F08ZfPvwDRyb%2DFFN3yadZNPylcFLlHsN7eW1je51h%2DiUTnoXfTd4hd2WY6KiSpFrURqmG1lMlpWLho3WyNkMaCXjH1ao9zfikRo5qhupWZozaSKt6SJZZKnSUN9QWEu%5F5W50y9Pc17jhcatxPAqsZwSUyo5v0gByOukl16cJOe%2D1rxICRUBOO53e2cV1e5D0tdNkrf%2D4nPCMLBnFYL0feGtHj82Z0C32XNAlIy3NMV9lrfYPusXRBQxiBJ0qU8J4CQlUID5Crp7TTDJbr9aT%2DLPrAoscSoPyvdALhq39xkgni8SWjiQj43iECejdFtpaRZPfW3dBMYVE3ShdTNr7w1Fo%5FzTBawlV%5FCGXKvPXUGsiDBBaFCyfQeo%5FA%5FuwMXohz%5FOMU618WB8FLxs5tkcS4xy0J9Vz7EeokoxPU%5FW4zjgwA%2DwzUspAm1aiYSix2RqN1jnLK%5F1mzGqlrUPMkhUNHPoNmsPWKIhybCgZdOCZH2wF85W3HGePnJRpNiMnbGN26mhP2JO%5FIrdxhccxPMEZntJijTS4OjzUAZVDmviW0uo2xy7q5nxGhw5UFSDo9wodYfnW4UA6OpF%2DQfZBRUAOyOGmOyNQhg4A4eQj6K%2DBSUiq9M1o7Sy7FFh%5F6fR5FZUN56%2DOglZtes96B5x2Jug9obh7TPhDSO5xzeCFjj2DPUPk0O4A%5FyOZaF%5Fep4KNgdKHkpmEpFb7%5Fd669A5V1%2Dxi4NfQr0gTBMacLqCxeA7hiHfD1NRIip7y62EjPAybYT0YWYmW4%2DO7LEfhcfhT%2DCk8eoNFlkvfsimL1Jw6LGjW3bB1BGx3w6PWaDupujD7Uxy9kP%5F6uEtYuHyg0GM2dmGhOtzvTNV%2D84gMBq4Z8Bp8pMGNv7tm3Mfu8cwNgdFM8tht1AFjBr2M3cPPn0PyuQ6fZvNQ0xU0Y7C%5Fxe7enELQ9urHc7jS%2Dlxj7d4XD0TJNDWuAnGfZaZahl4yzWBOpVMYrJ5ugHhzwmePJPleUqDx4MDS0o%5FVY8FiT9BZyr0A5T08VqJ1ZpgnMuNgrLnVS9CnkGR0wrKxPuInJJ%2DjMtMysRLF75aeloqPywJrs2qoq7mXww7so2xcq7W%2DYGcCmrMRCqsoo1KZJXxOtrjc1xPQaFitYjs7GGSgwUUSFv%5FCDyzN5iMvNp9Y9bQhGcR4P3tQpObRKLWhtePA8KzHgMVuzAlTFDbq73BZ7BaXUbZgS2Ty0OEeuhRvCAM3Ey9LbxbKs9OenIKNwmwFXNwAD1QbwW9QVWUB41tBsQDexhkvtUZ0HJoXjdgagqPCqRrdbUjW2y%2DSBWgzy8sllI9iPlaaPXe4OgruIcFGsO0E%5FX%5F26c3hp8Xs7FIbebFBe0vimNT1O9k6l3FnrG9z7k7jP10aMOvXNmEk3hM3%5FitRplycrQNC2m%5FLA6BtCtvwrVPuovADEcJezHKcbcGbJDqeOpkXJfPTA2AJ1t1X0PyG%2DQgb7XBXHXiVVcVGTq3yafqWVjs8p6surT1mDAm26Xe9W2mutCLzrl6dplue1Y1kW5gWNNFbBEjaWh7%2DRNA6md6Qhg7B3RXkpSGecs5zpc1zH%5FYlLDiZ%2D9ol2tu4AmwVFVgybLXWuqpd%2Dx0Lqi39EpFy511ivb8PYTtMW4cvLfIsX1xnxxC5bYhO1VemVMZMYEGA5OlGE17mM1jf9cYQ2Jb021dT1Su7Hx7X9pogZhw9BV2qNtR7RA0FBqNhqzlaRcDdo5TCSOUFxcU0rkfN45WCwYKRj78R%2DpDK3UVCdzl8rff3USr0NPiG2mTYjLHF2f64oer4%2DNit3tr0xHtlcbUVaUsrxhvBWL56T%2DxGcsHv%5Fa2BqRt5rK8h%5Fk8F%5FyUEG3fscaEW%5FEbQYqFnOs%5FRfNtk%5FgBoqIDl&lang=sage). There's some info about an earlier version of my plotting script [here](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/49823/16685). This version also has a "rainbow" option, which gives dots equal hues at equal times.

It's also interesting to look at the geocentric trajectory of the comet. Just make Earth (ID 399) the Center, and make the Sun (ID 10) one of the Targets.

---

Here's a plot showing the comet's estimated total magnitude, once again using a 5 day time step. Plot points are at 0:00 UTC.

[![Comet magnitude](https://i.sstatic.net/zNUXz.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/zNUXz.png)

Here's a plot of the ecliptic latitude and longitude of the Sun and 12P/Pons–Brooks, using the same time step.

[![Ecliptic lat & lon, Sun & comet](https://i.sstatic.net/IAgKo.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/IAgKo.png)

This table shows the date corresponding to each numeric label.

| Label | Date |
| --- | --- |
| 0 | 2024-Mar-01 |
| 1 | 2024-Mar-16 |
| 2 | 2024-Mar-31 |
| 3 | 2024-Apr-15 |
| 4 | 2024-Apr-30 |
| 5 | 2024-May-15 |
| 6 | 2024-May-30 |
| 7 | 2024-Jun-14 |

The magnitude plotting script can be found at the end of [this answer](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/55178/16685). Note that for comets, the nuclear magnitude replaces the surface brightness. Please see the Horizons manual for details.

The latitude-longitude script is [here](https://sagecell.sagemath.org/?z=eJydGGlz27j1O38FAqcr0qEZSY53Gs1wNkpWyXobW6ql7s7WVjmUBEqISYJLQD7H%5F73vAaBIyk47rTPh8fDum6KUkgumSs5uGBktU14oviSpyNdcbVeMxPmKpLEyL0kpMvKLKPmDyCVJREliouJyzRRZiNW9Q%2DCvZIgOzJQAYiIWkpU3PF%2DTJcsVKzXDIhWKcBVogrNtqniRMstJOhr6e8mVYjlZ3JPJGelfIId%2Dt98Luu%2DD3ntDKFY84WylFQGNyQ%2DoKWIdB92ToN93KKWOw7NClAr08uH%5Fn1smQYQ2JNnmSyVEKolFSctttIyXG2bOs1ihoilfBOCTa9Dd4k2XcRqXn0UJGGCS4yTVIwn3D92tZOMkkUyFn%2DNUMs9xtmUKeHSjVCEHb99KuQq%2DFWmQxzIO1uLmbVzwtxvr5CjhKQsAQh24RDeslBwsBXLwBBi3iCWLltkKIWDs2fBvo2g0%2DWV0Fv4xmjr6KZr9MRmF44%5FT0cVvowvn7%5F8Yns9OZ6ejaXjccz4Nv0afxxdnw1kIj%5FpVo3%2D5GH0ZX5wOz51P098qDGQ5%5Fvhr9PNwNgzPx8a9H3Zec7P4TvIHFvJcucee56xYQhKmlptoFavYNfH1bSL4RAJA4U0UeGVwBfsWQrJwVm6ZN9BRNsYlKOvV69fT8WfnsTL6yfk0Pjsbnv8cdh4N86eO82l0PhtdAMSIAch0NryYRbPTsxFAtVANHE9qmCg0aDSJpqf%5FNCCGIJA4AokoHHU5KEq0DUR7Ntf%5FBN2qrAoKIZUL0fUJ2hs%2DdkxedAako9id6jz5BMMp4YTnxRYP3A4w6%5FhopfdkmNYxLlkgWVwuN25Jh5NTAuGbno7PB1fy0L2aHnpUZ3SAvL1gXYpt4fYMD57s2LwKSSNzjE%5Fxz5iS0N%5FjMofiGhCUUBFxSR7tMyi92CqiNgCTyxL6A55iyT02%2DD5Rz9Rttqe3%2D5P0rl5fQeBGbnCoH0fjUVPzSuEM%2DZ6LnO3rSM%5FHRGfy6OJ0Sr290zYfExW1LXPNyml4AxNrn3WbmKVNjJTnTJrwapxAFilXGuruK0Gvchp8Ezx39fnlyaD349yzLsFkAD7ZLkSXvcFcn9jeue%2DxzPvXrO6qJI8zpmMeHP7kwf3q8fuBt032BY6fzMn%5FzNF6E43wSbuEHV3hQFLGS2Vq3KDBlZmCVjxj0idCd0Bb0dYfeHvuU3t4Kc2R2%5FE73uXgqDfXKQet2qhi%5FHeAsFLcVtBBFVZxa7gdGO1NHKA8rWooYO7Dfw1HJtyv%2DLB8m7ESsLQtXp0PB2RkLCXs%2DZj8YTck6%5FwRua8HEnSvVMRaq8vjuec3Xt%5FN60yCLDVuqkVaNsDBxdsb0vtr1yN%5FIcc%5FdskRvtRpKCRMiYLlK9etBFf5Z5Q%5Fi6%2DZCYeKs0I2xVbh0rOZA%5F8dIAxJt61O7QWYcyAuLjV2C%2Dc%2DW%5Flkk%2DniASO7cxtLr4Wl8BxQW0DQRuvYFmrR38CQg39vkLdlSQPIXKio7rxFoA2oHKKkdYTmXMS5nid6xD9ijIFY6whLUOF6T7i4GDhkXfOANuuhTiZ%5Fx9fUg0xFwdyi65OiZ9OHzjbMwCHE0EqZbi5mnSq6KLDoGe53QHbfBQULE9u7Hrz38L3XlO4C7AgQPfKWuHf4fNf1jPgFe3BBOSv5gAyLohR3HOYQblj5GioXVJZsGcMDgfQEF5lsUGulK0%5Frf1h4ujAKrIkHsF8bDJfL%5FmDuzV8igLNBH84gQHjypnVyZMisUh%2D3PF2Rj%2DyBQ0tabssbZlUoboAjijvUFzTER24mdZT2DqwJ6KEcGo8LBLbxaSa6sI2joJrhxTUkXl3p0L3ugQOaBcR1nq3QFgWeVHVVre6wTylw8nENQwWgh4aoxSGgIDO81%5FNH3AagG6YeygdHINK9fgBVfOKiGA3D%2D72GwIvXaAbGnCqDd%5F2sYVmd8C2vWPOayWL963zg2LShdHWeZDFMK9PHQ%5Frh%2DP17WrV3GdIesHvfhb9%2D%5F5j6wKyAYod1NqQHyQmcHcTdRMP1OhVS2LnfHZ3F5VGPmoXOgn7d5ke9d9SsdyE9WdFqFugVDzlUvSY8toVk9mTwsQBNNJaxwD7HsmAwbaBDcxH2tA64c%5Fb6IORmXRFXi6R9jbdKRNsCZdk1fLBbDXL4FnFRGBE2F71nG8iUpSAUqyVlsVQEVgus5BYV3d9AjIQJBOVLGRcbvsQZ15jSL2zAdvKZhmPZ7eae%2D10yr7lOyBaTmtyeNuaqobKh%5FQ6VPW1R7WrpG2ZutRKIVJRee4JiDVuxfsXJa3i3ZBI%2D%5FrAd%5F19fCfbeGqGW5bNVsg5mJYAOAIWwYsNAW8DXm0citvnqFW1PqmY4dQto7EIR7lKVtvpFL1%2DohPOSXI3SGMyg8rcw3BuyLw0XYPsfNi3Mwt7%2DurXj2V5sdxKi%5F8YdKt0WUMWxtTZA9re5TnBEF7AGK2nmhS7NE5scoUmRJgtdOC%5FwWOjJEBWx2rjVQNvjsiPCfDdrQcPDQQFZw6FF5C51aWs%5F0AJw0XXtQOvOW6xhdTEf3ypOozjl6zyD4IY0ZYmiex6w3n%5FBArnNXC0ENktI2QTYaWdQmcVpSvckQibDPtmWtxBKiWwvFXfbatGuND18B5U%2Du08PiyyfLbZMPmtyiLdblFTK9Jb0wi9C9aoLvRgWCZabReaxUQNPV%5FljlVp2b7q%2DhehgrFZ8qdxaTKiv4KES6F7q8c0XTPMONnNYZ%5Fiy41sT1iVf6Y%2DIkGY8FyWOMr68jna%5Fy4T9w8vdy7wii%2D%2DYjNJ4AeURXtKvlYVATb9WJlJIjgZeZIZN0DvBb%5Fm1fsOLidIkiHQVRde3KxmYeeMaw6uA2A5Bqx94AhhaFHMJ7rpOG0dFvra%5FO0wCGd8wNzHNw2YfUNQxvOVqQ2Dbyg0SmFBSDwOU7CdnSDYqS90kKFm8cj3DTm7ErTvxnH8DuEv3rg==&lang=sage). It's a minor update to the script in [this answer](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/55620/16685).


---

