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Unexpected, if not unidentified, flying objects startled some sky-watching North Queenslanders this week, with images of a long, thin object floating across the night sky trending on social media.
But there’s a simple explanation, says an expert, that’s more about a rich earthling than visiting aliens.
Still, said John Blandford, from Mackay’s Northern Beaches, what he saw in the sky stopped him in his tracks.
“I see this long thing … and it appeared to have lights all the way along,” he said.
“It definitely wasn’t a plane. It wasn’t a satellite.
“I don’t do drugs or anything like that. What the hell is it?”
Unusual night lights have mystified Mackay locals.(Supplied)
Jonti Horner, professor of astrophysics at University of Southern Queensland, knows what it’s not — a UFO piloted by intergalactic beings.
“UFO doesn’t mean aliens,” he said.
“It just means unidentified flying objects.
“It’s something weird in the sky that people are seeing that they don’t have an immediate explanation for.”
Simple explanation for sighting
Professor Horner said a long, thin object was in all likelihood Starlink satellites orbiting in tight formation, a chain of dots so close they can look like a single object crossing the sky.
A series of lights in the sky are satellites as part of SpaceX’s SpaceLink project.(Supplied)
Starlink is operated by tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, which last week expanded its man-made constellation with the launch of 53 satellites.
“They are essentially trying to deliver very expensive satellite internet for people worldwide,” Professor Horner said.
“They’re launching these in big batches and so what you get for the few days after launch is a lot of satellites very close together, all equal and moving in line.
“That’s what we had at the end of last week.”
‘Wild west’ in space
According to Professor Horner, as space use increases, so will the number of UFOs we will see.
“Space is a bit like the wild west at the minute,” Professor Horner said.
“Legislation just hasn’t kept up with the reality of how things are going.
“A lot of how we govern space is based on a treaty that was put together in 1967.”
Since then, Professor Horner said, our presence in space had gone “bonkers”.
“SpaceX are planning to launch up to 42,000 satellites,” he said.