Strange Lights In The Sky Over Chicago Turn Out To Be Starlink Satellites
Over the long holiday weekend, residents in the Chicago area were left puzzled by a string of lights in the sky. Numerous reports poured in from curious onlookers who had witnessed the peculiar phenomenon. One viewer wrote to NBC Chicago from Indiana, “There was a straight line of lights that appeared in the sky…they were moving slow and suddenly one by one disappeared. Definitely a phenomenon I never seen anything like this before.” Another viewer from Huntley, Illinois reported, “Several small lights aligned moving upwards in the sky then disappearing.”
However, what initially seemed like an unusual occurrence turns out to be somewhat more common than expected. It appears that the lights were actually Starlink satellites, which were launched on both Thursday and Sunday. Starlink, a project by SpaceX, aims to provide global broadband internet coverage by deploying a network of thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit.
This is not the first time that Starlink satellite sightings have made headlines. Similar incidents were reported in the Chicago area in February, April 2022, and April 2020, with sky gazers also witnessing strings of lights in the sky during those times. For those who missed the spectacle over the holiday weekend, there may still be another opportunity to catch a glimpse of the satellites this week.
According to a website that tracks the satellites, there is a chance that the lights could be visible again in Illinois, with potential sightings on Tuesday evening. However, the visibility of the satellites will depend on various factors such as weather conditions and the satellites’ locations, which can change.
While it is now known that these lights were not alien spacecraft or other supernatural phenomena, the Starlink satellite sightings continue to captivate and intrigue people across the globe. As technology advances and more satellite networks are deployed, it is likely that similar occurrences will become more frequent. So, the next time you see a string of lights in the night sky, it might just be another batch of Starlink satellites making their way across the horizon.