Meteor shower? Nah, it's a Chinese rocket falling

It looked like a big meteor shower. A streak of light in the night sky followed by several smaller flecks. Since, as any amateur skywatcher would tell you, July-end is the time for meteor showers, and the Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids were awaited, many took it as the celestial event. Some even posted videos saying so. Like, this user in Malaysia.
But it turns out it was just a Chinese booster rocket making an uncontrolled return to Earth. Most of its devices were burned up during re-entry. Which explains the trail of smaller flames seen in the video. Some may recall the final scenes from the 2013 Alfonso Cuarón movie 'Gravity'.
Not just the skywatchers, even US officials were caught unawares, and NASA chided China for not sharing details on the fall of an hazardous object.
The China Manned Space Agency later revealed it fell in the Sulu Sea, 57 kms east off the coast of Palawan Island. Malaysia confirmed the burning debris crossed its airspace.


The Long March 5B - China's most powerful rocket - blasted off July 24 to deliver a laboratory module to the under-construction Chinese space station. China has been saying it would fall harmlessly, but was accused of being opaque on the coordinates of its re-entry.