Why can you see strange bright lights in the sky over the San Francisco Bay Area tonight?

Musk SpaceX Corporation Bring them to life Satellite Starlink on May 4 – yes, Star Wars Day – from the 39A Launch Complex (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center. The Falcon 9 booster launched 60 Starlink satellites into the atmosphere.

The latest forecast is for Friday at 11:30 am, when the satellite train will fly for the first time across the skies of the Gulf region, Friday from 9:24 pm to 9:25 pm. According to the website, it will be visible for about 5 minutes sky, Here you can link your location to determine when the satellites will pass through your area. (Note: The screen may change slightly during the day.)

The page reports that Starlink is nearly over your head tonight and is 10 to 15 times brighter than the night before. The satellites will rise from the northwest and disappear in Earth’s shadow shortly after crossing to the southeast.

You can also check satellite traffic through your area Here.

The Starlink train is especially noticeable in the sky because it is “60 times closer to Earth than conventional satellites” CompaniesIt can provide communication services to remote and disadvantaged areas.

Made of a reflective material, satellites can become visible when sunlight strikes them in the hours just after sunset or before sunrise International Astronomical Union.

“They start 60 again every few months,” said Gerald McGagan, an astronomer at Chabot Space and Science Center in Auckland. “When they are first launched, it’s a small line of satellites that are close together and then slowly separate from each other. People love to see these lights, but astronomers are reaping light pollution. They are supposed to take them into the atmosphere over time to make them.” Less clear. “

The Federation and the National Observatory of Radio Astronomy has raised concerns in the past that satellites are too bright and cause problems for astronomers.

“The organization generally views the silent dark sky principle as radio as essential not only to improve our understanding of the universe to which we belong, but also as a resource for all humanity and to protect nightlife,” the union said. Published statement Connected. “We still do not understand the effects of the thousands of these visible satellites scattered in the night sky, and despite their good intentions, these constellations of satellites could threaten both.”

McGagan said the Starlink satellites, like other satellites, are interrupting their work at the Oakland Science Center.

“We have an asteroid search program in the middle that is taking pictures of the sky in search of moving objects,” he said. “What happens is that these satellites draw white lines on the image. That spoils the image. It was a small problem before, but it’s a much bigger problem with more and more satellites.”