Have you recently seen bright lights in a straight line traveling across the sky and wondered what they are?
As the world absorbs the leap in human ingenuity from the first images from NASA’s James Webb space telescope, some people have wondered what they see in the sky closest to home.
An ABC Radio Brisbane listener told the Breakfast show that the lights looked like a hundred feet of stars or lights traveling across the sky toward him, going “very fast.”
“It was absolutely silent. They didn’t sound like planes, but in a perfect straight line, a series of star-like lights traveling across the sky. It was really weird,” he said.
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University of South Queensland astronomer and astrobiologist Jonti Horner said the lights were actually the last Starlink satellites belonging to Elon Musk and that these sightings were becoming more common.
“Your company SpaceX was launched [the satellites] in the last 24-36 hours and were visible between 5:21 and 5:26 in our region this morning, ”he said.
“Some of them, all lined up, very close together, relatively bright.
“The satellites have been launched to offer the Starlink Internet service and are causing astronomers endless pain because of the pollution they cause, and they are also scaring people away.
“It’s different from anything you’ve ever seen.”
Reflected light left by recently launched Starlink satellites as they pass through the field of view of a telescope. (Provided by: Victoria Girgis, Lowell Observatory)
If you live on the east coast of Australia and want to see the satellites, Professor Horner said they will be visible again on Thursday between 5:36 am and 5:44 am and again on Friday around 5: 55 am
“It will be two or three minutes earlier at the southern end near Tasmania, and one or two minutes later if you are at the northern end,” Professor Horner said.
“It depends on where you are. They move around the earth every 90 minutes and if you move so fast, it won’t take long to cross Australia.”