CHICAGO — As many people looked up at the sky Thursday night, they noted seeing a string of lights and asked, ‘What in the world is that?’.
They weren’t the only ones wondering that as videos and images of said lights appeared on social media. In fact, our WGN newsroom received several call and emails with the same question.
WGN News Now spoke with Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium about this.
“What this is is a string of Starlink satellites that were launched by SpaceX on the 21st,” says Nichols. “And once they got up into space they started to be released and they kind of string out in a line.”
According to the Starlink website, it’s high-speed, low-latency broadband internet.
Nichols explains SpaceX has been launching a constellation of satellites. She adds they will have several thousand of these satellites when the constellation is finished with the goal of providing satellite internet coverage.
The Adler reminds patrons they will be providing 52 free admission days a year, and this time offering it on Wednesday nights. You can find more information on the Planetarium here.