Residents of Northwestern parts of the U.S. and Canada were baffled at seeing a bright trail of lights—almost like a train flying through the skies over the weekend.
The mystery seems to have now been resolved. And, turns out, “aliens” are not to blame.
Satellite train riding the skies
Over the weekend, stargazers in parts of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and nearby areas could spot a trail of lights blazing through the sky in a motion akin to a flying train.
It’s not a scene from a Christmas movie or a set of UFOs.
The light snaking through the sky was a moving cluster of 53 Starlink internet satellites that SpaceX launched from Florida this Friday.
“Yo wtf is in the sky in Seattle. WHAT IS THIS TRAIL OF SLOW MOVING LIGHT #ALIENS,” exclaimed one tweeter.
Similar comments followed from people left in complete awe of the sighting:
So that is the oddest thing I have ever seen in the sky. Slow moving line of lights just passed over Southern Ontario. Anyone got an explanation? #ufo #uap pic.twitter.com/9cVGVk7ajP
— Live From The Shed (@livewiththeshed) August 20, 2022
Adrian Fartade of Link4Universe shared one stellar footage:
Ecco un breve video dei satelliti #Starlink della #SpaceX, che molti avete visto magari ieri notte. La luminosità è dovuta alla luce del Sole, poco dopo il tramonto, che riflette sui panelli solari dei satelliti, mentre questi sono vicini ancora perché sono stati lanciati da poco pic.twitter.com/TEL6xIPv0a
— Adrian Fartade – Link4Universe (@Link4Universe) August 21, 2022
There’s a close-up shot posted on YouTube by ViralVideoLab too:
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“On Friday, August 19 at 3:21 p.m. ET, SpaceX launched 53 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida,” reads an announcement from SpaceX.
“This was the ninth flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, and now four Starlink missions.”
This isn’t the first time Starlink has shone through the skies either. The “phenomenon” has frequently repeated itself including in 2020, 2021, and earlier this year.
Fun fact, keen astronomers and stargazers can head to Findstarlink.com to see when would the next sighting of Starlink be in their region.
