SpaceX Starlink satellites seen in Florida will be visible from other US states. USA This weekend

On Thursday night, a SpaceX Starlink satellite train was visible in the night sky over Florida, and several residents reported seeing a series of white lights around 9 p.m. local time.

Floridians posted images and videos of the satellite train on social media, with some even communicating with local media to report what they were seeing.

Local station News 6 reported that it received several phone calls around 9 p.m. Thursday, asking, “What is in heaven?”

Melbourne resident Michael Seeley was one of those who posted images of the satellite on social media.

“FL’s Space Coast had an amazing view of the #SpaceX #Starlink train tonight (Thursday) as it flew directly overhead. Amazing work, @elonmusk and @SpaceX team!” He wrote on Twitter.

“Florida, did you see that? The Starlink trail flew over us!” She tweeted another user, Shanita Riquel.

SpaceX’s Starlink project aims to send thousands of mass-produced satellites into orbit to provide high-speed Internet coverage worldwide, even in areas where access has traditionally been unreliable, expensive, or unavailable.

Last week, Elon Musk’s firm successfully launched 60 more Starlink satellites into orbit through the Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This brings the total currently in orbit to around 420.

The company plans to launch more than 1,500 satellites, providing near-global service by the end of 2021 or 2022. Overall, SpaceX received regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy up to 12,000 satellites in orbit above Earth.

If you didn’t catch the satellites last night, they will be clearly visible from other parts of the United States this weekend. Visit the Find Starlink website to see what the visibility will be like in your area.

The project has been criticized by some experts for its potential to create light pollution, affect astronomical observations, and generate space debris in already crowded regions where orbiting satellites reside.

“Starlink is a crime against humanity; it steals the skies of our ancestors from all corners of the earth,” Travis Longcore, a UCLA light pollution expert, wrote on Twitter in March.

A recent study by scientists at the European Southern Observatory concluded that the mega-satellite constellations developed by SpaceX and other companies could have a significant impact on some astronomical observations, such as wide-field studies conducted with large telescopes.

“Satellites used to be a minor nuisance. They were rare, so a satellite crossing our field of vision was rare. As their numbers increase, satellites will become a component of light pollution, as will lights. of the street “, Olivier Hainaut, one of the authors of the investigation, previously counted Newsweek. “We have been able to escape light pollution by placing our telescopes in the middle of the desert. We will not be able to escape from satellites.”

Satellites have appeared as bright streaks in some astronomical images for several months.

SpaceX recently responded to astronomers’ concerns by saying it had updated the design of its satellites in an attempt to reduce glare.

“SpaceX is committed to making future satellite designs as dark as possible,” the company said in a press release released on Tuesday. “We also strongly believe in the importance of a natural night sky for us all to enjoy, which is why we have been working with leading astronomers around the world to better understand the details of their observations and the engineering changes we can make to reduce satellites brightness.”

“With the benefit of hindsight, the changes seem pretty simple,” Musk said during a presentation Monday to the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. “We will feel a bit silly in hindsight, since it’s not that difficult.”