Reddit Starlink or is it? again

[jarlrmai]

Source: https://old.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1vfm9jp/cigarshaped_glowing_object_moved_smoothly_and/


https://ufosighting.report/sighting...lowing-object-moved-smoothly-and-fast-over-st

It looks like a recent Starlink launch and there was one near by the time, Starlink Group 17-53

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight_launches_in_July–September_2026#August

But the CSV from

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/sup-gp.php?FILE=starlink-g17-53&FORMAT=csv

Doesn't seem to match in Sitrec

Could it be this one, I can't find elements for it though

We had a case like this recently here where it was "solved" on reddit, but it was actually not Starlink but another constellation launch from a different provider.

https://www.metabunk.org/threads/starlink-train-over-uk-eu-21-13-7-4-26.14832/

 

[flarkey]

That post is a duplicate of this:


Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/PortalExperiencer/comments/1vft7bu/st_gallen_switzerland_4_august_2026_no_audio/?share_id=NDmFOJ7Jk38R3rnolxplx&utm_content=share_button&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

The submitted MOV file contains an embedded timestamp corresponding to 10:21:15 PM CEST. However, because the file was edited to remove its audio before being uploaded, it is unclear whether this represents the original capture time or the creation time of the edited copy. The precise time of the sighting therefore remains unverified.

A preliminary reconstruction using those orbital elements indicates that the Starlink 17-53 stack may have passed high over the St. Gallen area at approximately 9:41 - 9:49 PM CEST, subsequently moving through the north-western and northern sky. This is broadly consistent with the witness reporting that they were facing north.

New CSV from Celetrack for the Starlink 17-53 stack is attached, and shows to be overhead Sy Gallen Switzerland at 21.47 CEST for me (although the spacing is out, but thats to be expected with newly launched satellites edit oops, had the day wrong)

https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?custom=15857/St Gallen Starlink/20260805_105827.js

 

[flarkey]

Another one...

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/itsalwaysstarlink/comments/1vfogk7/starlink/

Flying over Kandersteg switzerland tonight at about 9:45

 

[jarlrmai]

Hmm there seems to have been some misleading here by the 1st Swiss reporter then

The video was taken way earlier than they state, but as always there's some issue the time reported as midnight

 

[Bernd Lauert]

I saw this Starlink Train yesterday!
Southernmost Germany, 21:47. Looked exactly like in the Sitrec simulation. It was quite impressive, I've never seen such a compact one before.

 

[jdog]

What struck me was the different ways people described the same thing -- one called their sighting a "Bright barrel-shaped object flying low and fast" and another labeled it a "Cigar-shaped glowing object moved smoothly and fast." And you had people insisting it was a single object, including "these are not separate objects, but one single object." One person who might have seen the same pass said "it had mutiple square glowing windows next to each other on bottom part."

Which, again, highlights issues with witnesses trying to make sense of what they saw rather than describing what they saw.

 

[NorCal Dave]

Which, again, highlights issues with witnesses trying to make sense of what they saw rather than describing what they saw.

Might make a good thread that collects the various descriptions with the videos. A quick reference to show people the problems with witness testimony.

 

[CuriousPhil]

Yes, appears to be Starlink Group 17-53 launch out of Vandenberg just a few hours earlier at Aug 4, 2026, 10:05 AM PDT (Aug 4, 2026, 05:05 PM UTC)
Here's a CuriousPilot replay from the Kandersteg, Switzerland location.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY8HD3cTIEs

 

[Bernd Lauert]

What struck me was the different ways people described the same thing -- one called their sighting a "Bright barrel-shaped object flying low and fast" and another labeled it a "Cigar-shaped glowing object moved smoothly and fast." And you had people insisting it was a single object, including "these are not separate objects, but one single object." One person who might have seen the same pass said "it had mutiple square glowing windows next to each other on bottom part."

Which, again, highlights issues with witnesses trying to make sense of what they saw rather than describing what they saw.

I think all those descriptions are somewhat accurate and don't necessarily contradict each other. It was on the border of being resolvable as multiple objects with the naked eye. Honestly, I first thought it was a plane until it lit up. That gave the "multiple square glowing window" effect. It moved as fast as a plane at mid-altitude would, so I totally understand why people would mistake this starlink train as an aircraft. I'd even say it looked like a 'silvery disc' from the side, so I'm surprised that didn't come up in witness reports. I guess flying saucers are simply out of fashion.

 

[JMartJr]

Reading back through "classic" UFO reports, it struck me how frequently a large meteor or piece idre-entering space debris, create the illusion of one object with an row,or even a double-row, of lighted windows when it broke up into a line of chunks as it disintegrated.

I'm traveling this week, I can dig through my old actual books (yall remember books, right? ^_^) to post a list of example when I get home next week... if I forget, anybody feel free to remind me.

Edit to add... I can see making the mistake, especially with something like this meteor photographed over San Francisco, CA in 2012.

https://www.space.com/minimoon-fireball-over-australia-desert.html