April 10, 2026 | 02:12 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In early April 2026, social media platforms, including Facebook account 1 and account 2 [archive] and various TikTok users, were flooded with videos of a luminous object purportedly exploding over a village in Lampung Province. Speculation ran wild, with claims labeling the phenomenon a comet, a meteor, or even a mystical fireball.
The footage shows a brilliant light streaking across the night sky, followed by a glowing trail. "A natural phenomenon similar to a meteor fell in East Lampung," reads the caption on one widely shared video.
However, does the video actually show a celestial object falling in East Lampung?
FACT CHECK
Tempo verified these claims through reverse image searches and credible news reports. The investigation confirms that the object passing over Lampung was neither a meteor nor a comet, but space debris from a Chinese rocket. Authorities confirmed that the debris did not explode over any residential area in Lampung.
Thomas Djamaluddin, an Astronomy Professor at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), identified the object as debris from a Chinese CZ-3B rocket. Residents across Bandar Lampung, East Lampung, and South Lampung witnessed the streak at an altitude of roughly 120 kilometers on Saturday evening, April 4, 2026, at 7:56 p.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB).
"The object entered the dense atmosphere, continued to glide, burned, and broke apart. That's what residents in the Lampung and Banten witnessed," Thomas told Tempo on Sunday, April 5, 2026.
Trajectory tracking indicates the object fell in India, toward the Indian Ocean, passing through waters south of Sumatra. Similar incidents have been recorded previously. In 2021, debris fell from components of the Chinese CZ-5B space station, and in 2022, parts of China's Beidou navigation satellite were also observed in the atmosphere.
Annisa Novia Indra Putri, Head of the ITERA Lampung Astronomical Observatory (OAIL), explained that the rocket was used to launch a Chinese satellite on January 23, 2025. It had been orbiting in a low-Earth trajectory, gradually losing altitude due to atmospheric drag.
Based on analysis of footage from the Smart All-sky Camera, developed by ITERA researchers and partners, alongside public videos, revealed that the object’s speed was lower than that of a typical meteor.
There was also fragmentation of light moving in one direction with a horizontal trajectory. "These characteristics distinguish it from natural objects such as meteors or comets," an excerpt from the ITERA publication stated.
The Lampung Regional Police inspected several areas reported as possible impact sites, including East Lampung and Tulang Bawang. Local authorities clarified that no celestial object fell or exploded within residential zones in Lampung Province.
As for the clip showing residents gathered around a burning site, the origin remains unverified. Some netizens suggested the fire occurred in a farmer's field or a livestock farm. However, Tempo has not located any similar videos circulating online.
CONCLUSION
Tempo's verification concludes that the narrative claiming the video shows a comet, meteor, missile, or mystical fireball exploding over a Lampung residential area is misleading.
The object was actually space debris from a Chinese technological device that re-entered the atmosphere and fell toward Earth.
TEMPO FACT-CHECK TEAM
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