The truth is somewhere nearby: UFO over Moscow region could be the wreckage of a Chinese satellite

The origin of the fire trail seen in the sky over the Moscow region is still an open question for scientists — it could be either a natural object or something created by man, such as a Chinese satellite. Experts note that its properties are extremely unusual — the color of the glow and the duration of the flight cause disputes. Against the background of the discussion of the incident, another circumstance attracted attention. It became known that NASA has closed access to data on the asteroid 2025 US6, which was supposed to approach the Earth. Izvestia investigated whether there was a connection between these events.

A strange glow in the suburbs

The cause of the mysterious flare in the sky over the Moscow region, which was captured on video by eyewitnesses on October 27, is still unknown. According to experts, it could be either an artificial or a natural object.

On the same day, employees of the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy at the IKI RAS published a message on their Telegram channel stating that information about the celestial body 2025 US6 first appeared in the NASA database on near-Earth objects, but then disappeared for unknown reasons. This object measuring about 2 m was supposed to pass at a distance of 150 km from the Earth on October 28.

Photo: Global Look Press/NASA

According to scientists, this may be due to the mysterious glow near the capital. "It is highly likely that the body can be considered at the moment in its possible connection with the events in Central Russia. The reasons for the closure of information in the catalog, as well as how widespread this practice is, are currently unclear," the report says.

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However, as Alexander Volvach, deputy director of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, explained to Izvestia, there is nothing suspicious about the changes in the NASA catalog.

— It's very simple. The 2025 US6 object was noticed and entered into the database, but after correction it was withdrawn, as it was realized that it was not a natural body. The information has not been confirmed. A typical procedure. There have been such cases more than once. But the question arises as to what it really was. Most likely, this body is of artificial origin: a step of something or, for example, a Chinese satellite that flew by at that time. But to find out for sure, you need to get data on the trajectory of the spacecraft or some other body," said the astronomer.

Photo: Global Look Press/Rana Sajid Hussain

The version about the Chinese satellite was also expressed by the staff of the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the IKI RAS in the Telegram channel. Experts pointed out that the DRO-B spacecraft was unsuccessfully launched into lunar orbit in 2024, after which it found itself on an uncertain trajectory. There is information that in March of this year it was transferred to a retrograde orbit, directed from east to west. And this coincides with the movement of the car observed in the Moscow region. The satellite could well have been purposefully removed from orbit.

The color characteristic of the asteroid

However, according to Sergey Yazev, director of the Astronomical Observatory of Irkutsk State University, the nature of the object's glow indicates its natural origin. This is indicated by the color of the radiation. The duration of the movement, which reached 20 seconds, is also extremely unusual, while asteroids burn up in just 3-5 seconds.

— It is clear that the object is flying very hollow. This may be due to the fact that it entered the atmosphere at a tangent and flew for a long time at high altitude and burned up very slowly. When, for example, the Chinese rocket was coming out of orbit, there was a completely different light — orange-brown. It is formed when iron or aluminum burns. Therefore, it could hardly be a satellite," he said.

Photo: TASS/IMAGO/Christian Grube

According to the expert, since the rendezvous with the object 2025 US6 was expected on October 28, it could not appear in the sky near Moscow the day before. There are simply no such mistakes in astronomy, as it was a different body, the scientist emphasized. It is possible that the data from the NASA catalog was deleted in order to conduct more detailed research, after which updated information will appear, he added.

— It is quite possible that the glow was caused by an artificial object. But for what reasons NASA removed the data from the public domain, it is unclear. I think they're trying to figure out what it was, and they don't want to replicate their assumptions. It is possible that it was also a natural body. A trail of fire indicates that it entered the atmosphere, since gorenje occurs only when rubbing against its layers. The object was not flying over Moscow, but rather to the north, in the Vologda region," said Alexander Zheleznyakov, a full member of the Tsiolkovsky Russian Academy of Cosmonautics.

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It is almost impossible to logically explain the actions of the American agency NASA, since its behavior is now extremely contradictory. He has not had a supervisor for more than 10 months, and 15 of the 18,000 employees are on forced leave due to the shutdown, said corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics Andrey Ionin.