Late on August 19, 2025, residents across western Japan were stunned by a brilliant fireball that ripped across the night sky—so bright it was likened to an alien invasion. Captured on dashcams and security footage, the flash lit up cities from Kyushu to Osaka, sparking both wonder and concern.

The glowing phenomenon appeared just after 11:08 p.m. local time over Kyushu, Shikoku, and parts of western Honshu. Videos and images flooded social media, as viewers shared footage of the dazzling streak that turned night into day.

Eyewitness Reactions

• “A white light I had never seen before… so bright I could see the houses,” said Yoshihiko Hamahata, driving through Miyazaki Prefecture.
• Others described the flash as “as bright as the Moon,” with some even reporting a sonic boom, a sound caused by something moving faster than the speed of sound through the atmosphere.
  

Scientific Explanation

Experts have confirmed the fireball was almost certainly a meteor, possibly a fragment from an asteroid moving at 21 km/s, which likely burned up and landed in the ocean south of Kyushu. Unfortunately, no fragments have been recovered—something planetary scientists regret, as it could have offered clues to the early solar system.