Philadelphia
A string of lights that lobbed across the night sky in parts of the United States on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday had some people wondering if a fleet of UFOs was coming, but it had others – mostly amateur stargazers and professional astronomers – lamenting the industrialization of space.
The train of lights was actually a series of relatively low-flying satellites launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX as part of its Starlink internet service earlier this week. Callers swamped TV stations from Texas to Wisconsin reporting the lights and musing about UFOs.
An email to a spokesman for SpaceX was not returned Saturday, but astronomy experts said the number of lights in quick succession and their distance from Earth made them easily identifiable as Starlink satellites for those who are used to seeing them.
Michigan’s recent UFO reports had a simple explanation
Updated May 10, 2021;
Posted May 10, 2021
File-In this photo taken May 6, 2021, with a long exposure, a string of SpaceX StarLink satellites passes over an old stone house near Florence, Kan. The train of lights was actually a series of relatively low-flying satellites launched by Elon Musk s SpaceX as part of its Starlink internet service earlier this week. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann, File)AP
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GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, MI – A string of equally spaced lights traveling across the night sky last week resulted in speculation and some alarm for Michiganders and Americans across the country, The Associated Press reports.
By CLAUDIA LAUER, MICHELLE LIU
and ED WHITE
Associated Press May 10, 2021
âAP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
Shoppers wear mask as they shop at a nursery & garden shop on
Motherâs Day weekend during COVID-19 pandemic in Wilmette, Ill.,
Saturday.
Nam Y. Huh
Signs about Mother s Day are displayed at a home decor
department store in Northbrook, Ill., Saturday, May 8, 2021. (AP
Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Nam Y. Huh
A shopper wears a mask as she shops at a nursery & garden shop
on Mother s Day weekend during COVID-19 pandemic in Wilmette,
Ill., Saturday, May 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Joyous reunions among vaccinated parents and children across the country marked this yearâs Motherâs Day, the second one celebrated during the coronavirus pandemic.
String of satellites baffles residents, bugs astronomers
May 9, 2021
File-In this photo taken May 6, 2021, with a long exposure, a string of SpaceX StarLink satellites passes over an old stone house near Florence, Kan. The train of lights was actually a series of relatively low-flying satellites launched by Elon Musk s SpaceX as part of its Starlink internet service earlier this week. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann, File)
By CLAUDIA LAUER undefined
PHILADELPHIA (AP) A string of lights that lobbed across the night sky in parts of the U.S. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday had some people wondering if a fleet of UFOs was coming, but it had others– mostly amateur stargazers and professional astronomers– lamenting the industrialization of space.
Major US pipeline halts operations after ransomware attack
WASHINGTON (AP) â The operator of a major pipeline system that transports fuel across the East Coast said Saturday it had been victimized by a ransomware attack and had halted all pipeline operations to deal with the threat. The attack is unlikely to affect gasoline supply and prices unless it leads to a prolonged shutdown of the pipeline, experts said.
Colonial Pipeline did not say what was demanded or who made the demand. Ransomware attacks are typically carried out by criminal hackers who scramble data, paralyzing victim networks, and demand a large payment to decrypt it.