Space AtlasHow to see Starlink satellites, the train of lights in the sky
If you have watched a neat line of lights slide silently across the sky, you have seen a Starlink train: a fresh batch of internet satellites flying in formation just after launch. With about 10,836 of them in orbit, Starlink is the largest satellite constellation ever built. Here is what the train is, when to catch it, and how to see the whole fleet live on a 3D map.
What the Starlink train is
Each Starlink launch releases dozens of satellites at almost the same point on the same orbit, so for the first few days they follow one another in a tight chain, evenly spaced like beads on a string. That chain, catching the sunlight against a dark twilight sky, is the train people photograph and report. Within a week or two each satellite raises itself to its working altitude and the line spreads out into separate moving points.
How to catch it
- Look in the days right after a launch, while the satellites are still bunched into a visible line.
- Go out during twilight, the couple of hours after sunset or before sunrise, when the satellites are lit but your sky is dark.
- Find a spot with a wide, open view and few bright lights, and watch for a smooth, silent row of points drifting in one direction.
- Use the overhead map to see which Starlink satellites are crossing your sky right now.
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Frequently asked questions
- What is the string of lights moving across the sky?
- A neat line of evenly spaced lights gliding across the sky is almost always a Starlink satellite train: a batch of internet satellites recently launched together and still flying in a tight chain before they spread out and raise their orbits. Each one is a satellite reflecting sunlight, and the whole line drifts smoothly in the same direction. See Starlink on the live map
- When is the Starlink train visible?
- The train is easiest to see in the first days after a launch, during the twilight hours just after dusk or before dawn when the satellites are still bunched together and lit by the Sun against a dark sky. As the days pass they climb to their final orbit and drift apart, so the tidy line fades into individual moving points.
- How many Starlink satellites are there?
- About 10,836 Starlink satellites are currently in orbit and tracked in the catalog, making it by far the largest satellite constellation ever built. You can see every one of them plotted live on the 3D map. View the whole constellation
- Why do the Starlink satellites look like they are in a line?
- A rocket releases a batch of Starlink satellites at nearly the same point on the same orbit, so at first they follow one another like beads on a string. Over the following days each one uses its own thruster to raise and spread its orbit, which is why the line is a temporary sight best caught soon after launch.
- Are the Starlink satellites the same as the ISS?
- No. The ISS is a single very bright light and the brightest object in the night sky, while a Starlink train is many fainter lights in a row. Both move smoothly and silently without flashing. If you want the single brightest, steadiest light, that is the space station. How to see the ISS