People across Aotearoa spotted a mysterious object streaking across the sky shortly before sunrise on Tuesday, creating a bright trail that was visible from several parts of the country.
Reports began coming in from across the North Island shortly after 6 am, with witnesses describing a glowing object moving steadily across the early morning sky.
One passenger aboard a commercial flight over Auckland managed to record the moment, saying the object “lit up the sky” while the rising sun cast a vivid orange glow along its long trail, according to a report by Chris Marriner of Stuff.
The witness said the object appeared as a solid light travelling on a steady path with a strong trail behind it and did not seem to break apart as it descended toward the west. He also noted that it appeared distant and had a halo-like glow around it.
Similar sightings were shared online from the Coromandel Peninsula and Hawke's Bay regions.
According to David Greig of Fireballs Aotearoa, the object was also captured on camera in Wellington.
In Napier, real estate agent Kevin Waggs photographed the object from Marine Parade. He said it appeared to be heading toward the Chatham Islands, Chris Marriner of Stuff has reported.
Waggs told Stuff he could see what looked like a “rusted car” at the front of the object, adding that the contrail remained visible for about fifteen minutes.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, Greig suggested the object was likely man-made and not an aircraft contrail.
Later information indicated that the spectacle was probably linked to the re-entry of Progress MS-31. This Russian resupply spacecraft had been docked at the International Space Station since July last year.
According to NASA, which refers to the craft as Progress 92, the unmanned spacecraft had been loaded with “trash” by the ISS crew before leaving the station, as reported by Stuff..
Russian state news agency TASS later reported the craft’s controlled re-entry, citing a statement from Roscosmos.
“Today, the Progress MS-31 resupply ship, which docked with the Russian segment of the International Space Station in July 2025, was de-orbited, after which it reentered the dense layers of the atmosphere and disintegrated,” the report said, as quoted by Stuff.
“The incombustible fragments of the spacecraft fell in a non-navigable area in the southern Pacific.”