Jakarta (ANTARA) - A cluster of burning objects seen over Lampung and Banten provinces on Saturday has been identified as space debris, according to Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

"Residents in Lampung and Banten were shocked by a bright burning object they saw in the sky, which later broke into pieces. We can confirm that it is space debris," BRIN astronomy professor Thomas Djamaluddin said on Sunday.

He said orbit analysis showed the debris was part of China's Long March 3B (CZ-3B) rocket, moving from the direction of India toward the Indian Ocean.

The object descended below 120 kilometers at 7:56 p.m. local time, making it visible to residents along the western coast of Sumatra, he added.

"As the object entered the dense atmosphere, it continued moving while burning and breaking apart. This phenomenon was observed by residents in Lampung and Banten," Djamaluddin said.

Videos circulating on social media on Saturday showed a glowing object moving across the night sky over Lampung, at the southern tip of Sumatra.

Witnesses described the falling object as "meteor-like."

Meanwhile, data from the European Space Agency (ESA) shows that more than 650 fragmentation events involving space debris had been recorded as of January 2026.

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