Sky watchers in Alaska treated to SpaceX satellites and glowing aurora

Sky watchers in Alaska were treated to both a dramatic green Aurora and a group of Space X Starlink satellites.

Space.com posted a video Thursday of the striking display, which Alaska aurora tour guide Ronn Murray saw during an aurora tour this month.

"We saw this while taking some guests out on our aurora tour," Murray said. "It was really beautiful."

A trail of Starlink satellites were seen crossing the night sky in front of the aurora near Fairbanks Alaska.

According to SpaceWeather.com these Starlink satellites are so close to Earth that they easily outshine a first-magnitude star.

SpaceX has said it's attempting to dim individual satellites, but some astronomers are still concerned that the number and brightness of SpaceX satellites in orbit can interfere with observation of stars.

SpaceX has launched more than 2800 satellites into orbit since 2019. Those satellites are used to provide Internet services to remote corners of the world, including at sea.

According to Space.com, the SpaceX satellites seen in the aurora video were not yet in operational orbit. They were at an estimated altitude of 198 miles.

Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

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