China ‘intercepted meteor or UFO’ as fireball streaks over sky before exploding

Footage of an explosion in the sky above China’s Shandong province has fuelled speculation the Beijing authorities ordered the shooting down of either a meteor or UFO

Social media users have speculated that a meteor or UFO^[1] was shot down by the Chinese military^[2] after videos of a fireball streaking across the sky ending in a dramatic explosion circulated online.

The flaming object was seen tearing through the night above China’s Shandong province^[3] last Friday (September 12) but appears to explode mid way through its flight.

Videos posted on X appear to show the fireball being intercepted^[4] by a small bright light in the sky, destroying it instantly. Several clips showed different angles of the spectacle. The fireball appears to move in a curved arc before the explosion.

X users have speculated whether this was a missile intercept test. Self proclaimed UFO^[5] researcher Tom Thompson said on X: “Defense analysts say this fits a missile-intercept test,” adding, “A point of light moved fast on a curved path.

“A second light approached from another vector. They crossed, a flash lit the sky, and two sharp booms followed. Clips flooded Chinese social platforms. Local media described the first track as target-like. The second behaved like an interceptor closing the gap.”

The claims of a missile test are not confirmed and there is no official statement yet from Chinese authorities. However, locals did report hearing “two loud bangs, resembling artillery shells,” The Sun^[6] reported.

Another X user, UFO mania, said: “Can anyone explain this video from China^[7]? I was thinking it was a meteor^[8] or something. But then it hits whatever that thing is that comes from the left. Pretty interesting Don’t know what it is though.”

Astrophysics expert Dr Alfredo Carpineti who writes for IFL Science reviewed the footage and was not convinced it was a meteor. He told the Metro: “The problem is that it partly looks like a meteor until it doesn’t.^[9] That’s why I’m sceptical.’

The quality of the footage was also questioned by Carpineti who described it as “weird^[10]” and “bouncy” making it hard to find out what the object actually was. He spoke on the possibility of it being a missile: “The fastest hypersonic missile is still slower than the slowest asteroid and there is no planetary defence system that uses missiles”. Asteroids travel at between 25,000mph to 160,000 mph while the fastest hypersonic missile can only reach speeds of 20,700 mph.

China’s space programme^[11] is reportedly planning a mission to strike an asteroid with a spacecraft however, after the US’s successful venture in the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) in 2022. Chief designer of China’s lunar programme, Wu Weiren, said that the programme’s aim was at “defending against asteroids”.

This comes as earlier this year a “city killer” asteroid was discovered with a chance of smashing into earth. Named 2024 YR4, this asteroid is between 40-100 metres wide^[12] and could destroy an entire city on December 22, 2032, according to European Space Agency (ESA) predictions.