Metro Vancouver residents are sharing photos and videos of a bright streak of light that they saw moving across the sky Sunday.
Several people took to social media over the weekend to state that they observed bright lines of light moving across the night sky.
Coca Gómez shared a video of what she noted looked "like a [SkyTrain] literally in the sky."
what was this???? its like a skytrain literally in the sky #Vancouver #northvancouver pic.twitter.com/nv7Q5QKno1
— Coca Gómez (@coocagoomez) May 1, 2022
G. Paul Needham shared a couple of images of the bright manifestations, remarking that his son had seen them above Tower Beach at the University of British Columbia.
My son saw these too, above Tower Beach at UBC.
— G. Paul Needham (@G_P_Needham) May 1, 2022
Large number of lights, moving in unison,in an arc.#Vancouver #starlink ?? pic.twitter.com/E9zCoI1mda
Marley Leacock, an astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, told Vancouver Is Awesome that the bright lights are most likely Starlink satellites.
"SpaceX deployed some [satellities] on April 29 and they would have been visible in Vancouver by [April 30]," she explained. "What makes them most likely Starlink satellites are the characteristic line or streak across the sky that does not change brightness as it moves."
The objects also move at a constant speed and in a straight line, adds Leacock.
"The satellites move up into their intended orbits over a period of time. After their initial launch, they are low to the ground and visible."
Elon Musk's Starlink satellites provide wider internet reach
Starlink, a satellite internet constellation operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the globe. It has also become a lifeline for Ukrainians during the war.
Starlink’s website explains that when satellites are far from Earth, latency is high, resulting in poor performance for activities like video calls and online gaming. Starlink satellites are over 60 times closer to Earth than traditional satellites, resulting in lower latency and the ability to support services typically not possible with traditional satellite internet.
In May 2021, locals shared videos of Starlink satellites moving through Metro Vancouver skies.
With a file from Cameron Thomson
