SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Did you catch the streak of lights moving across the night sky on Sunday night? It’s not aliens, Chinese-owned balloons, or night drills from Hill Air Force Base. The lights seen streaking across Utah on Sunday were just StarLink satellites.
Launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX in 2019, Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites circling Earth in low orbit. Its mission is to deliver broadband internet that can support streaming, gaming, video, and more.
According to Starlink’s website, the low orbit allows data to transmit faster than other satellite internet services, reducing latency and providing higher speeds.
It also makes the satellites much easier to see with the naked eye on Earth, especially at night.
According to Find StarLink, a website dedicated to tracking internet satellites, last night’s viewing was one of three timings with “good visibility.”
The satellites will be viewable again in Utah on Monday, Feb. 13 around 7:21 p.m. and again on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7:34 p.m. Each viewing will give Utahns a five-minute window to watch the streak of lights fly by.
