Following the Wolf Moon, a group of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites was spotted over the Local 6 viewing region. Residents described the sight as a ‘train’ of bright lights moving smoothly across the sky in a precise formation. The latest reports and information suggest that the sight is nothing unnatural but a common one after the new Starlink launches. SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are one of the revolutionary initiatives from multibillionaire Elon Musk, and they are built to expand global internet coverage.
On the evening of January 6, residents in Taiqian County, Henan Province, saw the satellites moving across the night sky. The display was a look-alike of a visible chain or series of bright dots. According to SpaceX, Starlink satellites orbit in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), typically around 340 to 1,200 kilometers (211-746 miles) above Earth. So, when they pass over a specific region, right before sunrise or after sunset, the sunlight reflects off the satellites, making them glow, while the ground below is dark. This phenomenon makes these satellites appear as a bright and steadily moving beam of light.
Many residents across the region were surprised and curious, or even disturbed by the sight. Some of them panicked without knowing the view was formed by the newly deployed Starlink satellites before they spread out into their designated orbits. Later, the local news clarified and confirmed that those were Starlink satellites. The local media reported that the satellites were at the ideal position, right angle, and altitude to reflect sunlight. Apart from that, the clear weather conditions across the region enhanced the visibility. Based on the latest reports, the newly launched Starlink satellites are often brighter and more noticeable before they deviate into higher operational orbits.
People often believed that it could be a UFO, but later they realized that what people saw was similar to the conventional behaviour of Starlink satellites. UFO generally follows erratic motion, sudden stops, and sharp turns. But the predictable movement of the vision in a straight line at a steady speed eliminated the possibilities of UFOs. The train formation generally followed in the Starlink satellites further confirmed the news and helped remove all possibilities of an aircraft or unknown objects.
SpaceX Responds To Astronomers With Brightness Mitigation Efforts
SpaceX is actively exploring methods for mitigating the brightness of its Starlink satellites. SpaceX officially announced that they had therefore taken unprecedented steps to work with the astronomy community to better understand how SpaceX, and all satellite operators, could mitigate the effect that the Sun’s reflection off satellites could have on astronomical observations.
They added that any satellite could be visible from Earth at night if it was illuminated by the Sun and scattered light to Earth observers. They mentioned that satellites typically were visible when they were just over the dark side of the terminator (the day/night boundary on Earth), corresponding to the first several hours into night and before dawn. They noted that several factors determined a satellite’s visibility from the ground. They explained that satellites at higher altitudes were illuminated deeper into the night, whereas satellites at lower altitudes would have incident sunlight blocked by Earth shortly after sunset or sunrise.
According to SpaceX, on its first-generation satellites, it developed “sun visors” to block sunlight from hitting the bottom side of the chassis, and it also successfully developed customized materials for visors to make them less bright. These visors were exclusively designed not to interfere with radio signals, but the solution led to more problems, because the visor material blocked the satellites’ laser links, which are required for sending data between satellites. SpaceX’s second-generation satellites are comparatively darker than the first-generation satellites due to their brightness mitigation efforts.
