Here's How to Track the Starlink Satellite Parade Across the Night Sky

The stars appeared to align over Southern California in May 2021 when people reported a parade of lights in the night sky.

The unusual sight was actually a chain of small satellites deployed to bring internet access to the entire planet. 

Use the FindStarlink tracker to find the best upcoming viewing times.

On Friday, SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites for the company's internet satellite constellation system.

They’re part of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation of more than 1,500 satellites orbiting Earth about 340 miles up. The satellites have been shuttled into space by SpaceX rockets and become visible when light conditions are just right.

The satellites are sometimes visible in the first few minutes after sundown and before sunrise when the sun is below the horizon, but the satellites are high enough to reflect direct sunlight.

Use the FindStarlink tracker to find the best upcoming viewing times.

It's not clear how many satellites SpaceX will launch as part of Starlink.

Soon after the first few hundred satellites were placed into orbit, astronomers using ground-based telescopes voiced concerns that the highly reflective Starlink satellites may interfere with their observations. SpaceX began testing various versions of the satellites that reflected less light before settling on the version being installed now, the VisorSat, which comes with a sunshade that reduces the reflection of sunlight.

So, whether you see the Starlink satellites depends not only on light conditions, but also which Starlink satellites are overhead. You’ll recognize them by what appears to be a train of bright, white lights movings at a decent pace across the sky.