I saw a string of lights in the sky!
Those
words are very common as of late – and in fact we are
likely to get them more and more as time goes on. The
reason is quite simple: SpaceX!
So, what does a private
space firm have to do with lights in the sky you ask?
Well, SpaceX had the idea (not so great if you ask me)
of putting up vast amount of satellites in low earth
orbit called the Starlink system. This group of
satellites will eventually number in the thousands with
the hopes of creating a world internet and offering its
services to government and militaries alike. The net
result is that the satellites (as of the date of writing
number around 300) form a string of clusters satellites
looking much like a pearl necklace. As it is an unusual
sight, we have been getting a lot of reports of “strings
of lights”. As the numbers will increase and the
expected amount to reach 12,000 by 2022, these will be a
regular part of our night sky.
If
you would like to track them yourself, please check out
this website:
https://findstarlink.com/
So if you see something
in the night sky that makes you do a double take,
chances are it is thanks to SpaceX.
Keep watching the skies!
Richard
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