Starlink train visible on March 26, 2020 over the Canadian countryside. (Image credit: Alan Dyer/Stocktrek Images via Getty Images)
A vast fleet of Starlink satellites orbits Earth, providing internet coverage on a global scale. On a clear night, you may be able to catch a glimpse of a few satellites in this megaconstellation as they crawl across the sky. And if you’re lucky enough to see them shortly after deploying, you might even see them appear as a “Starlink satellite train.”
While the ever-growing satellite armada is a menace to astronomical observations, it can provide an interesting target for skywatchers if you know when and where to look.
Appearing as a string of bright lights in the sky, Starlink trains can look rather “otherwordly” and have prompted numerous UFO-sighting reports when they first took to the skies. But the long lines of lights are only visible shortly after launch. Once the satellites climb to their operating altitude of 340 miles (550 kilometers) they disperse and are far more difficult to differentiate against the backdrop of stars, though a timelapse photograph will pick them out easier.
