Space junk burns in sky over Queensland, Australia

Videos obtained by Reuters showed streaks and bright sparks where the apparent space debris had burnt up. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the debris was from a Chinese Long March rocket. Reuters could not immediately independently confirm the reports.

"I thought it was a meteorite at first but later as it split, my mate and I began thinking it was space junk," said Jasper Nash, who filmed one of the videos. "It was very fascinating."

A growing amount of broken satellites and spent rocket parts has raised concerns over congestion, which increases the risk of collisions in space that can cause serious damage to spacecraft.