A string of lights spotted across western Kentucky and southern Indiana on Tuesday evening led to a flurry of social media speculation, ranging from military aircraft and distant drone shows to alien technology.
In reality, the lights seen around 6:13 p.m. were a train of 29 Starlink internet satellites. The satellites were launched on Sunday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, by the aerospace company SpaceX. According to Space.com, it takes some time for the satellites to reach their operational altitude. That means that for the first few days, they remain in close proximity to one another and closer to Earth, making them clearly visible to the naked eye.
Starlink tracking website FindStarlink lists the following times as the best potential for people in Owensboro to see the satellites again.
- 6:06 p.m. on January 7, visible for 4 minutes, west to northwest
- 6 p.m. on January 8, visible for 4 minutes, west to north
- 5:53 p.m. on January 9, visible for 4 minutes, west to north
However, the National Weather Service in Paducah is predicting mostly cloudy skies on Wednesday and showers on both Thursday and Friday, which will likely reduce any chance of the satellites being visible.
Starlink internet service became available to limited areas in 2020 and has rapidly expanded, now covering most of North America along with other regions. The company offers residential and roam plans in the Owensboro area with download speeds estimated between 105 Mbps and 226 Mbps.
