Did you see that light in Phoenix skies last night? We did too — here’s what it was.
People on social media posted videos and photos of a “possible UFO” seen in Arizona skies. Here’s what we found out about the phenomenon.
PHOENIX — It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a UFO!
Actually, it’s none of the above — but we saw that light in the sky last night too, Arizona.
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t seen a SpaceX launch from California in Arizona skies, but last night desert dwellers were actually treated to a SpaceX launch from Florida. Falcon 9 launched 23 Starlink satellites from Florida as part of the 14th launch in May by SpaceX.
What is Starlink?
Starlink is “the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more,” according to the service’s website.
The “constellation” of satellites consists of thousands of satellites that orbit Earth at an altitude of about 550 km, or 341 3/4 miles.
The satellites connect to antennas that users set up at their home to provide internet access.
More about Falcon 9
Falcon 9 is the world’s first two-stage, reusable rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX, according to the SpaceX website. The Falcon 9 transports “people and payloads” into Earth orbit and beyond.
There have been 341 total launches, 298 total landings and 272 total reflights, according to SpaceX.
What SpaceX launches look like in Arizona
Launches happen regularly out of California and create a light display over Arizona.
Dr. Vishnu Reddy, a scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, studies space situational awareness and basically … knows a lot about space.
He told 12News the reason the SpaceX rockets light up the sky is not because the engines burn brightly (although they do), it’s because of something called the Twilight Phenomenon.
“The sun might have set for us here in Arizona, but it hasn’t set in California,” Reddy said. “So it’s catching that sunlight and reflecting off.”
In short, the rocket launches far away, in California. but it goes so high that we can see it in Arizona. And when we see it, it’s not in the shadow of nightfall, even though Arizona is. The “glow” is sunlight hitting the exhaust trail, even while we perceive the sky as black.
“If you are at the top of a mountain, you can see the sunset much longer than people at the base of the mountain,” Reddy said. So, think of the rocket as the top of the mountain while you’re at the bottom.
What did Arizonans see in the sky?
Here are just a few snapshots of what was in the sky on May 31.
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