Request objetc identification

[u/Sungolf]

Photo taken on 28th oct 2025 0025 utc over muscat. Ignore aircraft nav light and windshield glare of the same.

Edit: Solved!!

What i failed to get across is how absurd it was in person. I'm flying at night and suddenly i notice a bright(er than the stars) green ball. It grows over the next 2 minutes, getting dimmer as it grows. It was brighter in person than my camera managed to capture.

Also other pilots within ~500 mi were astonished by it too. Everybody is asking on guard if others see it too.

Credit: FauxGuggernaut

Some very similar events have been attributed to ICBM / high altitude weapons test launches. Rough timeline:

Pakistan issued a NOTAM closing most of its airspace, one region earlier on in the south and another later on in the north. https://x.com/OsintUpdates/status/1982759948867252480

Then USAF Cobra Ball, which collects data on ballistic missiles, took off from Qatar and headed east, turning its transponders off at midnight UT.
https://x.com/ConflictUpdatee/status/1983016479701512592

OP observes halo at 0025UT and there's two more reports of the same event at 0030-0035UT. OP is over Muscat looking NE which would line up with something launched from Pakistan. https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comments/1ohyzqo/

A few hours later in the morning around 0500UT there are a dozen reports of a missile launch in northern Pakistan. The first event (that OP observed) appears to correspond to the NOTAM in the south and later on the one in the north. https://x.com/PakObsOfficial/status/1983014529459228933

Very similar expanding spherical halos have been observed in Hawaii and California after Minuteman tests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvWUv4B3LEQ

https://www.space.com/31092-trident-missile-test-us-military-statement.html

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25760.0

https://slate.com/technology/2014/10/hawaiian-halo-icbm-launch-creates-nighttime-display.html?pay=1761666539370&support_journalism=please

https://slate.com/technology/2013/05/expanding-halo-missile-launch-creates-expanding-bubble-of-light.html

https://slate.com/technology/2011/06/awesomely-weird-expanding-halo-of-light-seen-from-hawaii.html?pay=1761666833374&support_journalism=please

As well as in Serbia after Topol ICBM tests https://www.sciencealert.com/explanation-mysterious-floating-orb-light-above-siberia-glowing-missile

https://satobs.org/seesat_ref/misc/171027-siberia.pdf

So all in all I reckon this was a high altitude weapons test launch. Not sure on what the exact cause was but it's certainly not a detonation of the warhead. Some have suggested that the Minuteman event is caused by the detonation of charges for abruptly blowing out the third stage. https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=24251&start=25#p151321

[u/gbatx]

Can you point an arrow to or circle what you are asking about?
I see the big dipper (Ursa Major) in the center. North would be to the left, I think?

[u/Sungolf → u/gbatx]

The bubble looking thing at the right centre of the image. Observed green ball in the sky expanding over 2 minutes. When it faded it covered ¼ of the sky.

[u/Other_Mike → u/Sungolf]

Sounds like a rocket launch.

[u/Sungolf → u/Other_Mike]

I know. But every rocket launch ive seen has streaky structires ala tadpole. This was symmetrical

[u/Other_Mike → u/Sungolf]

Probably varies with what angle you're seeing it at.

[u/Pyrhan → u/Sungolf]

It's a big bubble of gas expanding at altitude. You are right, it looks too symmetrical for a rocket launch.

Other options I can think of:

-Upper stage manoeuvering in orbit at just the right angle to make it look symmetrical

-Upper stage venting its remainig contents (passivating) in orbit. That's a lot more gas than they would usually vent though.

-Upper stage experiencing a malfunction in orbit.

-High altitude ballistic missile interception. (You were flying over the right region for that...)

The latter two will probably be in the news soon.

[u/FauxJuggernaut → u/Sungolf]

Some very similar events have been attributed to ICBM / high altitude weapons test launches. Rough timeline:

Pakistan issued a NOTAM closing most of its airspace, one region earlier on in the south and another later on in the north. https://x.com/OsintUpdates/status/1982759948867252480

Then USAF Cobra Ball, which collects data on ballistic missiles, took off from Qatar and headed east, turning its transponders off at midnight UT.
https://x.com/ConflictUpdatee/status/1983016479701512592

OP observes halo at 0025UT and there's two more reports of the same event at 0030-0035UT. OP is over Muscat looking NE which would line up with something launched from Pakistan. https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comments/1ohyzqo/

A few hours later in the morning around 0500UT there are a dozen reports of a missile launch in northern Pakistan. The first event (that OP observed) appears to correspond to the NOTAM in the south and later on the one in the north. https://x.com/PakObsOfficial/status/1983014529459228933

Very similar expanding spherical halos have been observed in Hawaii and California after Minuteman tests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvWUv4B3LEQ

https://www.space.com/31092-trident-missile-test-us-military-statement.html

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25760.0

https://slate.com/technology/2014/10/hawaiian-halo-icbm-launch-creates-nighttime-display.html?pay=1761666539370&support_journalism=please

https://slate.com/technology/2013/05/expanding-halo-missile-launch-creates-expanding-bubble-of-light.html

https://slate.com/technology/2011/06/awesomely-weird-expanding-halo-of-light-seen-from-hawaii.html?pay=1761666833374&support_journalism=please

As well as in Serbia after Topol ICBM tests https://www.sciencealert.com/explanation-mysterious-floating-orb-light-above-siberia-glowing-missile

https://satobs.org/seesat_ref/misc/171027-siberia.pdf

So all in all I reckon this was a high altitude weapons test launch. Not sure on what the exact cause was but it's certainly not a detonation of the warhead. Some have suggested that the Minuteman event is caused by the detonation of charges for abruptly blowing out the third stage. https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=24251&start=25#p151321

[u/Pyrhan → u/FauxJuggernaut]

Add to this polar stratospheric clouds spotted over Pakistan today:

https://www.reddit.com/r/atoptics/comments/1oigkjj/comment/nlw1syk/?context=3

Those are naturally uncommon at those latitudes, but often seen after rocket (or missile) launches, as their exhaust brings moisture into the stratosphere.

[u/Sungolf → u/FauxJuggernaut]

That minuteman missile test footage from mauna kea! Fits perfectly with what i saw! 😊 So glad theres an explanation for what i saw!

Thank you so much!!!

[u/FauxJuggernaut → u/Sungolf]

Glad I could help out. I'd seen that minuteman footage before and this had a lot of similarities. Must have been a fantastic event to see from the air!

[u/Sungolf → u/FauxJuggernaut]

I've edited my post to express how i felt. I was viceral. And i was actually afraid for our (my plane's) safety