Lights out over the South East anyone ?
Thread Starter
Lights out over the South East anyone ?
After doing a few very late flights I noticed some lights and thought they were other aircraft. Flying South they appear to be over the Tasman Sea. Light intensity varies from bright until they disappear and then reappear some time later. They appear to be turning and I have counted up to 4 at time.
When I asked other pilots they too had seen them on numerous occassions. Apparently this is not new. Does anyone have any idea what these are ?
When I asked other pilots they too had seen them on numerous occassions. Apparently this is not new. Does anyone have any idea what these are ?
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Thread Starter
After doing a few very late flights I noticed some lights and thought they were other aircraft. Flying South they appear to be over the Tasman Sea. Light intensity varies from bright until they disappear and then reappear some time later. They appear to be turning and I have counted up to 4 at time.
When I asked other pilots they too had seen them on numerous occassions. Apparently this is not new. Does anyone have any idea what these are ?
When I asked other pilots they too had seen them on numerous occassions. Apparently this is not new. Does anyone have any idea what these are ?
https://satellitemap.space/
The following 5 users liked this post by Ladloy:
We've been seeing them over the Atlantic and Pacific, usually in a racetrack which makes sense for it to be Elon.
What's been throwing us are the groups (4+) that either converge or diverge, both in the horizontal and vertical, usually very close together.
What's been throwing us are the groups (4+) that either converge or diverge, both in the horizontal and vertical, usually very close together.
Thread Starter
Thats curious . So its not just SE Aus. That is exactly what these lights do . It takes away the symmetry. Its hard to imagine satellites manoeuvring in this way. The changing light intensity between the lights is also a variable.
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Yeah I’ve seen them. I couldn’t logically explain them. Not the starlink train. Changing track right to left and on different occasions left to right. Different intensities. Spotted westbound over the Tasman on Auckland Melbourne and Auckland Sydney tracks.
Please just listen to the much more knowledgeable people: they’re Starlink satellites crossing near the horizon with sunlight hitting them at maximum reflection, hence the fade in and fade out.
Its not aliens or secret squirrel military stuff.
Its not aliens or secret squirrel military stuff.
The following 3 users liked this post by TimmyTee:
At what time of the year? Presumably sometime between say October and March?
Last edited by MickG0105; 10th Mar 2024 at 10:12. Reason: Corrected month range
Genuinely can’t remember. The links to other threads on this subject provide some plausible explanations re starlink. Still not convinced however.
Seeing a satellite illuminated by the sun when you're in darkness is a matter of trigonometry that is to a large part dependent on the altitude of the satellite and how far the observation point is from the day/night terminator. I can recall reading somewhere that for Starlink orbits, the distance to the terminator is 2,000 km or so. Given the Earth's inclination, that means that depending on the time of the year, at far southern (and northern) latitudes it is possible to see the Starlink trains at times like midnight.
Last edited by MickG0105; 10th Mar 2024 at 11:19.
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They are not manoeuvring. They are in an inclined orbit which takes them to 53 lat and then away again. It might look like they are manoeuvring but they are not. They are in an inclined orbit which takes them to 53 degrees latitude. Different intensities can be explained by the solar reflection off their solar panels.
As I said earlier:
Last edited by Xhorst; 10th Mar 2024 at 14:41.
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Thread Starter
So everything is ok with these lights? .Has any official body ever given these events an official verdict ! Official bodies been contacted and asked for an explanation ?
Or is this just pprune speculative space scientists explaining these lights.
Or is this just pprune speculative space scientists explaining these lights.