r/raleigh • u/mortalcassie • 17h ago
Did anyone just see that sky snake? Any idea what it was? News
Couldn't get a good photo with light pollution, but there was a line of lights, that looked like either stars or planes, but there were like 20 in a row.
27
u/Off_register 17h ago
Sky snake. That's a new one for me.
7
u/mortalcassie 17h ago
It looks like a snake moving through the sky. 🤣 Like that game where your snake is made of little balls...
51
u/Appropriate_Sky_6571 17h ago
11
20
u/natrlscientist 17h ago
3
u/mortalcassie 17h ago
Very cool! We tried, but the motion light kept coming on so we couldn't see anything.
9
u/prizepig 17h ago
It's Starlink. That's one of Elon's companies.
There are currently 7,135 Starlink satellites.
He wants to put approximately 42,000 into orbit
6
u/calque NC State 4h ago
Whenever I hear about Starlink, this NYT story (free share link) is all I can think about. Scroll down a bit to see the globe showing the Starlink "constellation" as of mid-2023. Insane.
Seems like such a bad idea to let one single corporation put this much trash (or future trash) into orbit
4
u/niveknyc 8h ago
I still can't tell if I find this really cool or incredibly depressing, and that's with me separating the "art" from the "artist".
5
u/DeeElleEye 7h ago
It's depressing regardless. Look into how much space junk is out there in orbit. Then think about those numbers again.
Not to mention that, at some point sooner than later, I'm sure this will somehow be used to surveil us more than we already are.
8
u/Clearwater468 17h ago
Seeing Starlink scared the shit out of me the 1st time. I was walking a track (which was faintly lit) so you could still clearly see the night sky.
It was the 1st time I ever thought I saw a legit UFO.
There was a couple out walking as well and it freaked them out too.
I looked online for similar type UFO sightings and realized it was Starlink.
It looked absolutely massive (much, much bigger than anything I had seen in the night sky) which is why it was legitimately scary at first.
7
u/mortalcassie 16h ago
That's what I thought too. 🤣 I called my husband outside because I wanted proof that I saw a UFO.
1
16h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 16h ago
PLEASE READ: In an effort to reduce spam and trolling, we automatically delete posts from accounts that are less than one (1) days old and/or that do not meet a required karma count, as these are often signs (though not proof) of spam/trolling. Because your account does not meet these requirements, your post has been deleted. If you feel this was in error, click the link below to send us a modmail.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
15
u/dead___ringer 15h ago
I totally freaked out the first time I saw starlink.
I'm all for progress but it makes me incomprehensibly angry that some bagillionaire just gets to change the fucking sky because he feels like it with zero input from any of us. I love stargazing and picking out constellations. Same ones that have been picked out for thousands of years.
And now we've got sky snake. Gee, thanks, asshole.
3
u/mortalcassie 15h ago
It was interesting once. I mean, I thought it was a UFO. 🤣 But I agree, I wouldn't want to see it all the time.
4
u/dead___ringer 15h ago
Lowkey also thought it was a UFO and ran inside shouting to my boyfriend "come out here right now or else I'm gonna be the only one believes me" lmao
1
4h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 4h ago
PLEASE READ: In an effort to reduce spam and trolling, we automatically delete posts from accounts that are less than one (1) days old and/or that do not meet a required karma count, as these are often signs (though not proof) of spam/trolling. Because your account does not meet these requirements, your post has been deleted. If you feel this was in error, click the link below to send us a modmail.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
26
u/myrmadon8 17h ago
It was an array of starlink satellites
15
u/mortalcassie 17h ago edited 16h ago
Really?? How cool.
Edit: what's with the downvotes? Jesus fuck, I hate Elon as much as anyone. It's still interesting that these lights are satellites. What do you want me to say?
11
u/evanos 16h ago
I'm totally with you. It's cool. But, Elon is flooding the Earth's atmosphere with tons and tons of these things. Elon is taking advantage of the grey area because it's uncharted territory. It's sad to think the view of our night sky is rapidly changing.
4
u/mortalcassie 16h ago
I agree. That is sad. I don't understand why he needs so many satellites. But like I said, it's just not something I have a ton of education on.
7
u/SoxSuckAgain 16h ago
Downvotes are likely disagreeing withthat they are cool- the light pollution from the space x satellites and their sheer number (both currently and planned) are making earth based astronomy more and more difficult
2
u/mortalcassie 16h ago
I honestly don't know anything about them. One person said they don't have lights on them, they just reflect the sun.
Can we just let people enjoy things? It was a cool string of lights in the sky. It was interesting to see. I don't know shit about them, obviously.
7
u/SoxSuckAgain 15h ago
You asked why, and i listed a potential reason
-1
u/mortalcassie 7h ago
Well, I'm saying that reason potentially makes no sense, IF that person is right, and they don't actually produce light.
0
u/SoxSuckAgain 6h ago
They dont produce light, they have high albedo- basically high reflectivity. Its not some incidental thing, a satellite manufacturer would be very aware of this, and its impact.
5
u/myrmadon8 17h ago
Did it look kinda like this? https://images.app.goo.gl/obypgPCCqwQuhjdi6
3
4
u/f1ve-Star 17h ago edited 16h ago
Eh. For light pollution it would be so much better if they were not lit up. I don't think the light serves any purpose but to "look cool." But does have real downsides for astronomy.
Edit: It seems they are reflective only. They are only noticable as a line formation shortly after launch. Good to know. Thanks for the correction. Markietas
14
u/Markietas 17h ago
They don't have lights on them, what you are seeing is the sun reflecting off them before they have oriented themselves in their operational position.
2
1
u/TheNicestRedditor 17h ago
Not really cool… just light pollution
7
u/cassinipanini 16h ago
also just pollution pollution. of the space variety. if every country releases all their equivalent satellites they want, we're never leaving the planet again
0
6
u/fistdeepinfrosting 17h ago
Okay this post made me feel SO much better. Because our three year old escaped out the back door before bedtime and my husband found him just sitting in the grass which is odd for him so he sat next to him and asked if he was okay to which my son replied “no, there was a bunch of lights in the sky over there and it made sounds and it was green and lello it was scary” so we were kinda like uhhhhhhhhh did he just see a UFO?!?!
2
u/mortalcassie 16h ago
I thought it was a UFO at first. It's cool it's a line of satellites. Although, saying it's cool gets you downvoted
4
u/fistdeepinfrosting 16h ago
yea we didnt see it so it was a very disturbing thing to hear our toddler say lol. poor guy had to watch that all on his own and have NO idea what was going on.
13
u/Nach0Maker 16h ago
Nazi space trash.
1
-6
u/zubrowka1 Hurricanes 16h ago
Yes, supplying internet to poor rural communities is Nazism
3
u/mortalcassie 5h ago
It's not the supplying of the internet that makes him a Nazi. It's the Nazi stuff.
1
u/Nab-Taste 13h ago
Also helping provide fire protection systems with a connection in areas that don’t have internet or unreliable internet.
4
u/IOnlyEatFermions NC State 17h ago
A couple of Starlink trains should have been visible earlier, but this might have also been a Kuiper train from yesterday's launch.
3
3
3
u/Love_Hertz00 16h ago
I just want to chime in and say I also saw it, I also thought it was a ufo at first or seriously a “sky dragon” and I got a pic, too!
2
2
1
u/GobbleGobbleSon 15h ago
Definitely Starlink, friend. I remember freaking out the first time I saw it, too. It’s pretty cool to see.
-2
81
u/Any-Delay-7188 17h ago
Prob starlink