One onlooker ‘couldn’t believe’ what she saw
James Connolly, SWNS and Maxine Denton Senior Reporter
10:41, 08 Dec 2025
The mysterious streak of light was captured above Devon (Image: Ellie Jarvis / SWNS)
A mysterious streak of light spotted in the sky above Britain was most likely caused by a Chinese rocket, experts say.
Early risers in various locations, including Devon, were convinced they were seeing something otherworldly when the glow appeared.
Snapped by one witness in the early hours of Wednesday (December 3), pictures show the surreal pillar of light hanging still in the sky.
Experts now confirm the display was most likely caused by a Chinese rocket’s exhaust plume catching the rising sun during a test run.
Ellie Jarvis, 45, from Clovelly in north Devon, was up unusually early when she captured the sight.
Experts say the blazing light was most likely caused by a Chinese rocket(Image: Ellie Jarvis / SWNS)
She said: “I couldn’t believe it. We’ve seen auroras before, but I didn’t know what this was.
”It was so straight and high up in the sky. I wondered if it was a natural trick of the light.”
Speaking to the BBC, astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said: “It was definitely the Chinese Zhuque-3 rocket making its first test flight.”
In the photos, the sky looks black except for the blazing light, which seems to hover as dawn creeps in.
Ellie, who has lived in the village for 20 years, added: “I was so surprised when I found out what it actually was.
“I’d already shared it in our family group chat and we had all kinds of theories.”