People have been spotting strange lights in the skies above Sheffield – this is what they are

Dozens of people have reported seeing a chain of bright lights illuminating the night sky, leaving some scratching their heads about what they could be.

One observer asked on Sunday evening: “Did anybody else see a line of bright star looking lights moving in the sky tonight? I counted at least 10 moving in the same direction in a line. They were not stars or planes! Anybody know what they could have been?”

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Another commented: “I saw it. There were loads of them in a line just appearing from the west. All a uniformed distance apart. Freaked me out.”

Those in the know will realise they’re the Starlink mini internet satellites launched by SpaceX, which are causing much consternation among stargazers.

More than 360 of the 260kg spacecraft have now been sent into orbit, with SpaceX founder Elon Musk planning to launch thousands more to provide a global internet service.

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SpaceX initially sought permission to launch 12,000 of the satellites but subsequently applied for the right to put an additional 30,000 into orbit.

They were given a dark coating after astronomers complained about the satellites spoiling their views of natural phenomena, though some observers say they the craft are beautiful in their own right.

The first batch of 60 Starlink satellites was launched in May last year, and the sixth and latest Starlink mission, Falcon 9, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 18.

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They are initially placed in a relatively low orbit of 180 miles, making them easily visible as a long, strung-out cluster, but over a few months thrusters lift them to 340 miles, meaning they become less apparent.

For anyone wishing to witness the phenomenon in Sheffield’s night sky, an online tracker handily lists when the satellites will be visible from different points on earth.

For the best times to see them, visit me.cmdr2.org/starlink, which advises viewers to allow a 10 minute margin of error either way.