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The baffled Britons were stunned and confused when billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites lit up the night sky over the weekend.
Enthusiastic stargazers watched in wonder as a trail of lights crossed the sky last night, around 9:20 p.m.
They took social media to speculate whether the streaks were meteor showers or even UFOs.
But the stream of lights was emitted by billionaire Musk’s Starlink project.
Part of the SpaceX rocket company, based in Hawthorne, California, aims to create a constellation of thousands of low-cost satellites to improve Internet service worldwide.
Amateur photographer James Newman captured the incredible display from his London garden.
He said: “Our night skies can produce some spectacular shows, and last night was one of those occasions.
“At approximately 9:22 pm in southern England, a group of satellites called Starlink crossed the night sky over Essex.
James added: “Many people confused them with UFOs, but rest assured they will not confuse you.”
The British turned to Twitter to share their confusion at the incredible light screen.
Steve said: “Does anyone know what the long chain of satellites that span the British sky is right now? Must be 50 of them so far?
Lewis Barry commented: “I know there is a meteor shower, but what is this?”
Lewis was referring to the Lyrid meteor shower, which is expected to be visible Tuesday night.
Stu Chalk asked, “What the hell is going on? A straight line of satellites, more than 20 so far, all equally spaced?
What is Starlink?
Here’s what you need to know about Elon Musk’s satellites …
- Starlink is a satellite project led by billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk
- Musk intends to put 12,000 satellites into Earth orbit so that they can provide cheap WiFi to everyone
- SpaceX also intends to sell satellites for military, scientific and exploratory purposes.
- 60 of the Starlink satellites have been sent into space so far
- Satellites are being launched on unmanned Falcon 9 rockets
- How they will affect the night sky is causing concern as they look brighter than expected
- It will take at least 12 trips to bring all the satellites into space and they will be staggered to different heights above Earth.
Al Iguana commented: “I went out into the garden to observe the stars and saw six” satellites “, in a row, at a fairly equal distance, moving north.
“They weren’t planes, because a flickering jumbo light flew below them, and it was lower and slower.
“They were not meteorites, because they do not travel in a convoy … # UFOs.”
Starlink is a project that intends to put 12,000 satellites into Earth’s orbit so that they can provide cheap WiFi worldwide.
SpaceX ships them in batches of 60 at a time and so far has deployed 362 into orbit.
The Starlink program is controversial among astrologers, who have criticized the tech billionaire.
They say that satellites get in the way of observations and prevent them from seeing the night sky due to light.
However, Musk claims that satellite trains will not have that impact.
Speaking at a conference in Washington DC last month, he said: “I am sure we will not make any impact on astronomical discoveries. Zero. That is my prediction.
“We will take corrective action if it is above zero.”
If the British missed the amazing light show, they have another chance to watch the satellites tonight / Monday night around 10 p.m.
Last October, it was revealed that SpaceX wants to add 30,000 Starlink broadband satellites to the 12,000 it already plans to put into orbit.
The recent permit application could take seven years to obtain authorizations before the specified satellites are launched.
SpaceX would not have to launch all 30,000 satellites, but submitting them now could prevent other satellite operators from chasing the same slot machines.
In other news, NASA astronauts will launch into space from American soil next month for the first time in nearly a decade.
A surprising SpaceX video recently revealed how the company will one day fire astronauts to the ISS.
Apparently SpaceX wants the US Army. USA Use the 18,000-mile-per-hour spacecraft to transport troops and supplies across the planet in “minutes.”
What do you think of Musk’s satellite plan? Let us know in the comments!
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