Kosmos 482 is plunging with something hanging on its side. What is it?

Kosmos 482, a former Soviet Union spacecraft, is falling back on Earth and has become the centre of attention across the world. It was sent on a mission to explore Venus on March 31, 1972, but developed technical problems and has since been hovering in Earth's orbit. 

Satellite tracker Ralf Vandebergh of the Netherlands has got the tumbling spacecraft on camera. His photos show "a clear compact ball", which he says is fantastic. He also took photos of the spacecraft in 2014 and noticed the compact ball at that time.
 
However, this time he sees something in the frames whose identity is still dicey. Vandebergh says there is "a weak elongated structure at one particular side of the ball", which he believes might be the parachute that came out decades ago.

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He says that since the spacecraft is falling, the parachute would sometimes be visible. But, he isn't fully sure that what he is seeing on camera is the chute. It could be something else which has not been detected before. Vandebergh says more analysis in the coming days will reveal the exact nature of whatever is hanging out.

After it was launched, the spacecraft reached the Earth parking orbit. It then attempted to launch towards Venus, but something went wrong with the timer, and it separated into four pieces. Two of them crashed into New Zealand within 48 hours. The other two, believed to be the payload and detached engine unit, went into a higher orbit. These two pieces are now set to crash down on Earth in early May.

The landing module weighs 495 kg and is 3.2 feet across. It is expected to come down in one piece at a speed of around 242 km per hour.

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The lander was designed to survive the tough conditions of the Venus atmosphere, including acceleration, high pressures, and extreme heat. It was similar to the Venera mission landers. So it is likely that it won't disintegrate and crash down fully intact. It is expected to fall in the ocean, with a minute chance of falling on land since the entry is uncontrolled.