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Several Capetonians across town and beyond spotted a string of mysterious lights crossing the night sky before disappearing into darkness on the night of Friday, February 5.
Those who had the chance to capture the event in photos or video took to social media for answers.
Unsurprisingly, several users commented that the lights were an indication of an alien presence. The real explanation isn’t so far-fetched, but it’s just as exciting.
Thursday, February 4, SpaceX by Elon Musk launched 60 Starlink satellites from its Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The lights seen over Cape Town on Friday night are linked to this launch, according to skywatch enthusiasts.
Resident Willie Koorts managed to capture the Starlink satellites on video from consecutive nights in Wellington.
“Tonight [Friday] The flight over the latest L18 Starlink launch over South Africa showed that the 60 well-distributed satellites already, now 1.5 days after deployment,Koorts said after observing the satellites.
In the Koorts video posted before, which showed the satellites a day and a half (12.5 hours) after launch, they were much closer together and more difficult to spot individually.
“We have passes planned for the next few nights, so hopefully that stays clear so we can watch them spread out,” Koorts said.
@Elon Musk I think I just saw your trail of Starlink 🛰 flying over the cape. I am going crazy!!! My wife initially thought they were aliens. I watched your stream yesterday !!!! I can die now pic.twitter.com/FjypcK9cqc
– Stillie (@TheRealStillie) February 5, 2021
Through his Starlink project, Musk intends to launch thousands of satellites into orbit, which will be used to provide universal Internet coverage to Earth from space.
The first launch was in March 2019 and so far the company has put 360 satellites into orbit. Satellites are launched in batches of 60 and SpaceX hopes to launch at least two batches per month, but it is not yet up to par. Its ultimate goal is to have 12,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, according to Forbes.
SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rockets are used to place satellites 290 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
Then the satellites use their on-board ion engines to propel themselves into an operational orbit between 340 and 550 kilometers, which can take several months.
Satellites can be visible to the human eye for the months it takes them to reach operational orbit due to their reflective surfaces, as they reflect sunlight off the ground just after dusk or before dawn. when the sun dips below the horizon.
Image: Facebook / Jeremy Lock
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