Starlink train tonight — when and where to look
A dozen glowing beads slide across the night sky in a perfect, silent line. Every time it happens, local Facebook groups light up — UFOs? Drones? A secret military thing? It's stranger than that: you're watching this week's internet infrastructure being delivered, and with the right timing you can catch it over your own backyard.
What a Starlink train actually is
SpaceX launches Starlink internet satellites in batches — typically 20 to 60 on a single rocket, sometimes more than one launch per week. Right after deployment the whole batch is packed into nearly the same low orbit, around 180 miles up, flying nose-to-tail. From the ground, each satellite is a point of reflected sunlight; together they form the "train": a stately procession of lights on exactly the same track, evenly spaced, no blinking, no sound.
The show is temporary by design. Over days and weeks, each satellite fires its ion thruster to climb toward its ~340-mile operating orbit and the line stretches, spreads, and dims. The tight, jaw-dropping train exists for roughly one to four days per launch. That's why you can't just go out any night — you have to know a fresh batch is up, and when its track crosses your sky in twilight.
The visibility rules (same physics as the ISS)
- Your sky must be dark — sun about 6° or more below your horizon;
- The satellites must be sunlit — easy for them, they're high enough to be in daylight while you're in dusk;
- The track must pass over your area — Starlink launches go to ~53° inclination orbits that cover the entire continental US, so your address gets crossings daily; the question is whether they align with your twilight window.
Practical translation: look in the 1–3 hours after sunset or before sunrise, within a few days of a launch.
How to check your address right now
Open WhatsAbove’s SPACE tab with the "Just launched" filter. This loads every object cataloged in the last 30 days — dominated by fresh Starlink batches — and plots the ones above your horizon on a zenith-centered sky chart (center = straight up, edge = horizon). Satellites from the same launch are drawn connected as a bead-string, so a train visually reads as a train on the scope, matching what you'll see in the sky.
Two readings matter on each satellite's card: altitude (very low, 150–250 km, means recently launched and bright; 550 km means operational and faint) and sunlit: yes/no — a satellite in Earth's shadow is invisible no matter how well-placed.
What you'll see, minute by minute
The lead satellite appears low on the horizon like a rising star. Then another follows on the identical path. Then another. Within a minute you're watching a queue of 10, 20, 40 lights, spaced like beads on an invisible thread, taking two to four minutes each to cross the sky. Some trains twinkle gently as the flat satellites tumble slightly; freshly deployed ones can flare brilliantly. When the leader crosses into Earth's shadow, the lights wink out one by one at the same point in the sky — like a zipper closing.
Why they're getting harder to see (on purpose)
Astronomers pushed back hard when trains started photobombing telescope surveys in 2019, and SpaceX responded with darker designs: sunshades, dark coatings, and knife-edge solar-panel orientations during orbit-raising. Modern operational Starlinks sit near magnitude 6–7 — at or below naked-eye visibility. The result: the train phase right after launch is the show. Miss the window and that batch effectively disappears into the catalog. (You can still find them on the scope with the Starlink filter — there are thousands overhead daily — you just mostly can't see them by eye.)
Train-spotting checklist
- A Starlink launch happened in the last ~4 days (they average more than one a week — odds are good).
- You're in the window: 60–180 minutes after sunset or before sunrise.
- The scope shows a bead-string above your horizon, marked sunlit.
- Clear-ish sky in that direction. Then look up — you can't miss it.
And if what you saw was a single bright mover, not a line? Check the ISS guide — the station is the sky's other great free show, and it runs on a schedule.
Frequently asked
What is the string of lights I saw moving across the sky?
Almost certainly a Starlink train: a batch of 20-60 internet satellites launched together, still flying in a tight line days after deployment. They look like evenly spaced pearls sliding along the same track — unlike anything else in the sky.
How long after a launch can I see the Starlink train?
The tight, dramatic train lasts roughly 1 to 4 days after launch. Over the following weeks the satellites raise their orbits and spread out, becoming individually faint. The 'Just launched' filter on WhatsAbove tracks batches from the last 30 days.
Why can't I see Starlink satellites every night?
You can only see a satellite when it's sunlit while your sky is dark, so viewing is limited to an hour or three after sunset and before sunrise. Older Starlink satellites also dim as they climb to their operating altitude and orient to reduce reflections.