Reports of UFO sightings across central Oregon are again lighting up social media with folks from Madras to La Pine saying they’re seeing something strange.
“It appears to be like stars or just lines of these glowing things,” said Madras resident Hector Torres. “I look up and there they are. I counted the first row, a pretty good stretch of like 10 of them. A minute later there was 40 of them.”
Three mornings in a row, Torres and his family saw something unusual in the sky.
“One of my coworkers, he also saw the same thing this morning, so it makes me feel a little better than I am not the only one,” said Torres.
Sunriver Observatory Manager Bob Grossfeld says they aren’t alone.
“We’ve been getting phone calls and emails these last couple days and in particular this morning from the 9-9:30 sighting yesterday,” said Grossfeld.
So, what are these objects and where are they from?
“On May 4th from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX launched a big array of Starlink satellites, which are the communication, internet satellite system they want to develop,” said Sunriver Observatory Lead Paul Poncy.
Once in orbit, they’ll join the more than 2,000 already providing broadband internet to underserved areas around the world.
SpaceX expects much of its network, comprising tens of thousands of Starlink satellites, to be completed by the end of this year.
Poncy says it puts on quite a show just after sunrise or sunset.
“You don’t see satellites in the dead of night,” Poncy said. “The best time to see satellites is early evening, early morning when there is reflecting sunlight.”
Wednesday night’s sky show also includes a meteor shower.
“If nothing else if you don’t see satellites, you’ll see falling stars,” said Grossfeld. “It’s cool because the falling stars, meteors are quick burning, where the satellites are much more steady in the sky.”
You can see the meteor shower after the satellites, later in the night.
