Did You See the Mysterious Lights Over Dubuque This Weekend? Here’s What They Were

On Friday, December 8th, my girlfriend and I ventured out to see the Dubuque Fighting Saints at the ImOn Arena. It was a rousing game, as the Saints rallied from a 3-0 deficit against the Des Moines Buccaneers, eventually pummeling the visitors for a 6-3 victory. It made for a wonderful night of hockey for the Tri-States.

However, that wasn't the only memorable story of the evening. About 30 minutes before puck drop, a mysterious row of lights were clearly visible over the Fighting Saints' arena. They caught not only our attention, but that of others who happened to direct their attention to the night sky that evening...

Believe it or not, this was not my first encounter with this mysterious row of lights in the night sky. One evening earlier this fall, me, my girlfriend, and my friends were eating pizza and enjoying a Midwestern driveway party when we all directed our attention to the sky to see what we couldn't immediately comprehend.

The five of us watched the lights ascend one after another until they ostensibly flew so high that they were out of sight (or their light had went dark). It was as if each one reached the point of the first light and then flamed out. This stream of lights lasted for a couple of minutes before they all disappeared without a trace.

So what are those lights?

The row of lights are actually known as "Starlink."

Billed as "internet from space for humans on Earth," Starlink is a "satellite internet constellation" operated by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, the same company that manufactures spacecrafts. Starlink is responsible for providing internet connection to countries overseas, with plans for mobile phone coverage starting next year as an effort to eliminate "dead zones."

Nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with the potential for 42,000 in the future. SpaceX claimed they had more than 1.5 million subscribers in May 2023, a number that has surely risen after this weekend's impromptu light show:

Starlink 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.

 

Leveraging advanced satellites and user hardware coupled with our deep experience with both spacecraft and on-orbit operations, Starlink delivers high-speed, low-latency internet to users all over the world. - per the official Starlink website

Not only can you find out more about Starlink on the official website, you can also put in your location so you can discover when the string of satellites will be visible in your area via the "Find Starlink" website!