Elon Musk's Starlink satellites: 'String of pearls' phenomenon visible in UK night sky - how to see them

SpaceX's Starlink satellites have been spotted in the night sky. The unexpected phenomenon was caught on camera after making an appearance last night and, if you missed it, there's still time to catch a glimpse yourself.

The satellites, which look like a string of pearls in the inky night, have been spotted across the south, including Kent, and have been joked about on social media with people speculating it could have been “Santa on a test drive” or some “new ULEZ cameras”.

The Starlink satellites belong to SpaceX, an American private space agency belonging to billionaire Elon Musk. According to Starlink’s website, it is “the world's first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more”.

SpaceX launched two Starlink missions on Saturday (21 October), and the lights spotted on Sunday night, would be from the launch at around 8.23am on Saturday morning, from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California, USA.

In total, 21 Starlink internet satellites were launched and can be spotted in the sky after they reach their orbits. A further 23 were then sent up later the same day, at around 2.17am BST. 

Are the Starlink satellites visible tonight?

The satellites are visible across the UK for the next week, according to the Find Starlink site. Across the UK, in the major cities, Starlink is visible:

• London: 26 October at 6.26pm for five minutes. The site advises people from West to East. 
• Birmingham: 23 October, for five minutes at 7:50pm, from West to West. 
• Manchester: 23 October, from West to West at 7:49pm for five minutes. 
• Liverpool: 23 October from West to West 7:49pm for five minutes. 
• Edinburgh: 23 October, at 7:50pm for four minutes. The direction is from Southwest to South. 
• Glasgow: Visible from 7:49pm, from Southwest to south for four minutes. 
• Cardiff: from West to Northwest, at 7:49pm for four minutes on 23 October. 
• Belfast: visible for the whole week from 23 October, at 7:49pm, and each preceding day it is visible four minutes later. However, it is only visible for four minutes. 

What do the Starlink satellites look like? 

The satellites look like blinking stars, a string of lights in an almost ominous pattern. Long exposure to the satellites reveals their orbit pattern as the Earth moves. The satellites have been spotted across the globe as they make their journey in low orbit.