Strange ‘chain of lights’ spotted over Austria

Several “Krone” readers were able to observe the object on Sunday evening. Although the “weird light” caused excitement among some, some observers were already familiar with it. Because it wasn’t the first time the phenomenon crossed the Austrian night sky.

Rocket in orbit since 2020
These are satellites of the ‘Starlink’ network, which is operated by Elon Musk’s American space company SpaceX and has provided internet access since 2020. The website ‘Find Starlink’ also confirms the visibility of the satellites on Sunday evening over large parts of Austria.

Christmas lights visible after start
Earlier this year, nearly 6,000 of these rockets were in orbit, with the aim of building a constellation of 12,000 or even up to 42,000 satellites. The strings of lights that stand out in the video always appear in the sky shortly after the launch of new Starlink satellites. Because they are then arranged in tight columns. This formation is especially visible in the first few days after launch, before the celestial bodies disperse into their final orbits.

Further overflights by “Starlink” satellite chains are also forecast until Wednesday. The chain of 22 satellites can be briefly observed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday between 6:36 PM and 6:38 PM. The viaduct takes about two minutes.

Concerns about light pollution
While these satellite chains provide a fascinating spectacle for sky watchers, there are also concerns about their impact on astronomy and light pollution of the night sky. SpaceX is working to reduce the reflectivity of its Starlink satellites to minimize this impact.