Case file · Sighting
The 30 June 2002 object across China
Around 10 pm on 30 June 2002 people from Jiangsu to Gansu and Inner Mongolia saw a slow, shape-shifting glowing object move east to west.
2002 CE · 34.75, 113.62 · status: disputed
The account
Witnesses described an arrow, a fan, a crescent and a gold ingot shape; Purple Mountain researcher Wang Sichao called it an intelligent 'flying machine'.
The sceptical view
The vast area and fan-shaped glow match rocket or missile exhaust plumes lit by the sun at high altitude, as with the 1981 and 1982 events.
The researched reading
A huge, slow glow seen across much of China looks like an exhaust plume from a high-altitude rocket or missile. A secret test is the likeliest source.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something known, misidentified | 50% | A fan- or crescent-shaped glow that changes shape slowly, seen at once across thousands of kilometres after dusk, is the signature of a rocket or missile exhaust plume lit by the sun at high altitude. China’s 1981 and 1982 “UFOs” were identified this way. |
| Secret human technology | 22% | No public launch matches the date, which points to a secret missile test from a western Chinese range. That is classified hardware seen in an ordinary way. |
| Undetermined | 10% | The share a generic explanation had beyond what has been shown for this case: it fits many cases like this one, but has not been demonstrated for this one. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 7% | A Purple Mountain Observatory researcher called it an intelligent craft. The behaviour fits plumes, but no launch record confirms one. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 3% | Noctilucent clouds or a meteor do not fit the speed and shape changes. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 3% | Possible but not suggested by the descriptions. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 3% | Shape descriptions vary with each observer’s angle and expectations. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 2% | Too many independent witnesses. |
Official position: No official explanation was published.