BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — The mysterious lights that shot across Southern California skies early Tuesday morning turned out to be two-year-old junked parts of a Chinese spacecraft.

People in Kern, Orange, and Riverside counties as well as Los Angeles all reported seeing mysterious, brightly glowing streaks of light in the sky early Tuesday.

A video sent in by a KBAK viewer shows the bright streaks of light moving above western Kern County around 1:40 a.m. PST.

At the time of visibility, many observers were unable to discern what the objects were, or their origin, with conversations and speculation spreading online.

Just hours before, a SpaceX rocket carrying 22 Starlink satellites was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, also seen across the region around 7:30 p.m. local time Monday.The launch was originally scheduled for Thursday but was delayed due to weather.

However, reports from other local news stations and, ultimately, Space.com revealed that the objects were parts, mostly the discarded orbital module, ofChina's Shenzhou 15 spacecraft, which ferried three astronauts to the nation'sTiangong space station in November 2022.