Why are Starlink "Racetrack" Flares [Mostly] Reported from Planes?

I've just seen this one... could it be Starlink again...?


Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1csc0o6/ufo_spotted_on_flight_to_newark_nj/?share_id=lRVI-CHO_ZCPaxlTqji3T&utm_content=1&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1


I was on a flight from San Juan, PR to Newark, Nj on 05/14/2024. Flight was UAL2036. It was 10:05-10:10pm and the flight was a bit away from reaching land in NJ-NY. The flight was around 7000 feet up going around 300 MPH. I looked outside the window at the time because we were told to get ready for landing. I saw a bright light outside in the distance. Couldn't tell you approximate distance but did not seem fairly close. I made sure to check if it was a reflection from the inside cabin, it was not. The flight showed up in the bottom left view of my window, it seemed to move up and to the right where it was ahead of the plane wing. It dropped down and went back to where it started. Another light appeared right next to it and was glowing a bit brighter. A third light appeared from the right and went towards to the other two on the left. At this point the second light that randomly appeared on the left disappeared, the other two dimmed a bit and disappeared as well after another minute.

So while this was happening I did take video in which you can see the lights. Due to the lack of quality in dark spaces and the reflection of the window and humidity inside the cabin, its not the most high quality stuff but you can see the movements of the light. I tried to google the flight radar info to check in maybe there was a flight flying towards the plane at a different direction but was not able to pull it up. I also tried to be mindful of the movement of the plane in regards to the movement of the light. I would say the plane was not making a drastic movements while this was happening as you can kinda see the horizon light below the clouds in the video.

Would like some thoughts on what this might be. Please disregard any gramatical errors made, I was trying to write down everything quickly.

Link to video


Source: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-XWqsaQqSK5u_6-cEsfAKGjSAl0fBrFy/view?usp=drivesdk


Edit:

Flight date was 05/14/2024


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Seems to be in the right place, right time, for Starlink flares

(@Mick West - sitrec doesn't seem to be 1) showing the flare band and 2) showing flare-arrows when using the kml as the camera position source)

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(@Mick West - sitrec doesn't seem to be 1) showing the flare band and 2) showing flare-arrows when using the kml as the camera position source)
Oops! I've been making some significant "improvements" to the code, which invariably have side-effects. I'll fix this ASAP.
 
Oops! I've been making some significant "improvements" to the code, which invariably have side-effects. I'll fix this ASAP.
Should be fixed. I could not duplicate #2, but it might be a side effect of other things I fixed. If it's still happening, please post the KML and how you make it happen.
 
I think I had the time wrong, used the last saved metadata time rather than the created time. that puts the aircraft much further on in its flight and therefore unlikely to be Starlink flares.


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Another NUFORC Report

https://nuforc.org/sighting/?id=180458

NUFORC Sighting 180458

Occurred: 2024-02-16 21:15 Local
Reported: 2024-02-16 22:59 Pacific
Duration: 90 minutes
No of observers: 3 - Pilot - Aviation Expert

Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Location details: 50NM South of Morgantown (MGW) VOR

Shape: Light
Color: White, red, orange
Estimated Size: Undetermined
Viewed From: Aircraft
Direction from Viewer: 300
Angle of Elevation: 10
Closest Distance: >150nm
Estimated Speed: Mach 2.5
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby

8 Lights Moving in counter clockwise pattern with other lights making passes through and below the formation

I am the captain of a scheduled Part 121 air carrier. The event was witnessed by my First Officer and one Flight Attendant. En route from New York LGA to Memphis MEM, 50nm South of Morgantown MGW VOR, at 34,000ft, three lights appeared in a triangular formation. They were intermittently appearing and disappearing while moving in a counter clockwise pattern, vertically.

There were also two lights very close together in a right echelon formation making passes through the larger formation at a very high rate of speed, at least Mach 2.5. Various other lights appeared around the formation moving in different directions.

The lights appeared in red, orange, white, and yellow colors, but never changed color. Up to 8 lights were seen at one time. The lights were on a 300 bearing from our aircraft as we tracked roughly 270 degrees, varying in altitude from 2.5 degrees below the horizon to 10 degrees above the horizon.

We watched these lights continue to behave in such a manner for around 90 minutes, until we descended to a lower altitude. There were several other aircraft (at least 6) reporting the lights, as far West as Cheyenne Wyoming. I flew this same route the previous night, departing about one hour later, and did not see any lights on that flight. This is the 5th time that I have observed lights similar to these, and the 2nd time that my First Officer witnessed them. I was also with him the first time that he witnessed them.

NUFORC Note:
We spoke at length via telephone wiith this pilot, and we found hm to be quite sincere and sober-minded.

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"Occurred: 2024-02-16 21:15 Local - En route from New York LGA to Memphis MEM, 50nm South of Morgantown MGW VOR,"

This is the plane. I have filtered for planes on the route LGA-MEM and played back after midnight UTC on 17 Feb 2024. The nav beacon MGW is visible at the top of the map. Pilot said the lights occured 50nm south of MGW, which puts the time at 0219UTC.
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The Kml is attached. I put the kml into sitrec and played back the flight. They were right in the middle of the starlink flare band as they flew west. Flares would have been visible in their one o'clock position just above the horizon.

The lights were on a 300 bearing from our aircraft as we tracked roughly 270 degrees, varying in altitude from 2.5 degrees below the horizon to 10 degrees above the horizon.

https://www.metabunk.org/u/kAT82B.html
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Note that the pilot said:
I flew this same route the previous night, departing about one hour later, and did not see any lights on that flight.

FlightRadar24 shows that the day-before flight was actually 1h30m later...
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This puts the plane outside of the Starlink flare band for much of the flight, and all of the time at cruising altitude.

https://www.metabunk.org/u/CRqEWa.html
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"varying in altitude from 2.5 degrees below the horizon to 10 degrees above the horizon."

They were right in the middle of the starlink flare band as they flew west. Flares would have been visible in their one o'clock position just above the horizon.
Your "horizon" being the conical one of normie-speak, their "horizon" being the local horizontal. (And given that "2.5 degrees below horizontal" is unambiguous but "2.5 degrees below the horizon" isn't, I really think the pilots made a terrible choice in nomenclature. But that's an aside coming from someone who prefers precision and clarity in technical communication.)

Another digression - the "2.5 degrees below" got me wondering how far below horizontal a pilot may see the horizon (muahahah):
Code:
? acos(6380/(6380+10))*180/Pi
%112 = 3.2
 
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A new NUFORC report: https://nuforc.org/sighting/?id=182083

NUFORC UFO Sighting 182083

Occurred: 2024-06-11 00:31 Local
Reported: 2024-06-28 18:50 Pacific
Duration: 50 minutes
No of observers: 3 - Pilot - Military

Location: , , Unspecified
Location details: While flying from N24 24.6 W144 59.2 on a course of 054 degrees to N26 59.7 W138 12.3 at 35,000

Shape: Orb
Color: White
Estimated Size: Unknown
Viewed From: Aircraft
Direction from Viewer: 330-360
Angle of Elevation: 10
Closest Distance: Unknown
Estimated Speed: Unknown
Characteristics: Lights on object, Emitted other objects

Lights in low earth orbit illuminating brightly then fading, staying stationary, then moving in multiple directions, then orbiting

While flying between Latitude / Longitude coordinates stated above in the location details, and at FL350 between 0831 Zulu time and 0921 Zulu time, myself and 2 other pilots observed multiple unexplained orbs of light at our 830-1000 o'clock position, roughly in the direction of the Alaskan Aleutian Islands In reference to constellations, these UAPs were on a line drawn from the handle of the Big Dipper, intersecting through the bottom right corner of the dipper's spoon and observed roughly half the distance of the entire Big Dipper constellation away from the bottom right corner along the described line. All observations reported below were located between 5 and 20 degrees of elevation in the northern sky.

The observation started with a single stationary orb of light resembling a star, which slowly increased in illumination to the brightest light in the night sky. Twice over the duration of this event, some orbs of light illuminated to possibly the brightest light I've ever witnessed while watching the night sky. This interval was roughly 7 seconds. After the second observation of this event I began timing the intervals between observations, and the first 3-4 events timed at approximately 45 seconds. Multiple observations that followed were at irregular intervals between 5 seconds and 2 minutes. This was followed by an observation of a second orb slightly below and to the left, exhibiting similar behavior by increasing and decreasing illumination intensity. The maximum range of intensity varied as well as the maximum and minimum illumination during the course of observation. I was initially cautious in my observation believing there was undetectable weather phenomenon obscuring or altering our view such as high level cirrus clouds or other cloud formations on the far northern horizon. After minimizing any remaining light pollution in the cockpit, cross-referencing weather reported by onboard systems (to include enhanced vision systems) with air traffic control, and utilizing unaugmented vision through naked eye observation - it was concluded by all 3 pilots that there was not any weather obstructing our view of the phenomenon. We discussed our observations over our many years of many similar looking space related events such as geo-stationary and rotating satellites, star-link satellites, iridium satellite flashes, reflections from space debris, rocket launches and booster separations, military missile testing, etc. As we continued our observations, we quickly ruled out the aforementioned events. The orbs of light began moving rapidly along straight lines but at different degrees of elevation from left to right across the sky. The lights would then lose intensity and start again from the original observation point. At one point a a total of 7 orbs of light, in different degrees of elevation from the horizon were observed at the same time, sometimes all at the same level of illumination, and sometimes at varying degrees of intensity. I'd estimated the speed to be between 2-4 times the speed of an observable satellite. At different times through the event, the lights would both become stationary and/or move in the opposite direction from right to left. At 3 different times the orb movement deviated from what we originally witnessed as straight line movements, to abrupt changes in elevation, to smooth changes in linear movement from straight line to a curved path. At one point it appeared that a single orb of light while at a high level of illumination had 2-3 other dimmer orbs of light accelerate away from it at a very high rate of speed..
I was absolutely amazed at the randomness of the event, the unexplained behaviors, the change from stationary to fluid movements, to rapid accelerations, and the degree at which multiple objects appeared or disappeared and on so many different planes of elevation and azimuth. The only resemblance of a pattern within the time of observed lights came in the last 8-10 minutes of observation when 5 orbs of light entered a racetrack orbit, with varying degrees of light intensity. To rule out the possibility that these objects were closer than estimated such as 45,000-70,000 feet and 100-300 miles away, Air Traffic control was queried a second time as we neared the western coast about any radar-indicated traffic in the vicinity of observation and none were reported.
From my experience I'd estimate that these objects were either in low-earth orbit near the polar region or even much further into space. All 3 observers are highly trained, highly experienced commercial international airline pilots, including 2 retired combat military aviators, with over 40,000 hours of combined flying experience.
External Quote:
Location: 24.410000, -144.986667
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Time 2024-06-11 00:31 Local = 10:31 UTC

Flight was this 737, ASA894 from Kailua-Kona to San Diego. I filtered FlightRadar24 for flights at 35,000 over the pacific at the time of the sighting. I confirmed this below by checking the co-ordinates of the sighting.
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Their route goes straight through the reported waypoints quoted in the Sighting Report. KML is attached.
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Recreated in Sitrec. They were right in the Starlink Flare Zone and looking in the direction of where the flares would have been occuring.

these UAPs were on a line drawn from the handle of the Big Dipper, intersecting through the bottom right corner of the dipper's spoon and observed roughly half the distance of the entire Big Dipper constellation away from the bottom right corner along the described line. All observations reported below were located between 5 and 20 degrees of elevation in the northern sky.

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Permalink: https://www.metabunk.org/u/MUQy0v.html
 

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Another NUFORC sighting being discussed on Reddit...


Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOPilotReports/comments/1e4pzy6/pilot_with_40_years_experience_can_not_explain/


https://nuforc.org/sighting/?id=180099

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NUFORC
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NUFORC UFO Sighting 180099

Occurred: 2024-01-14 05:00 Local
Reported: 2024-01-19 11:03 Pacific
Duration: 45 Minutes
No of observers: 4 - Pilot

Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Location details: Flight Level 410 heading eastbound viewing to the east

Shape: Formation
Color: White
Estimated Size: Uknown
Viewed From: Aircraft
Direction from Viewer: east
Angle of Elevation: 10
Closest Distance: 600NM
Estimated Speed: Uknown
Characteristics: Lights on object, Changed Colo

Maneuvering lights at very high altitude views for 45 minutes at FL400

AAL flight 116 POGG - KDFW at FL410 heading eastbound starting at 1100Z. VMC clear skies. No moon. Initially saw two bright lights about 10° above the horizon, and both pilots commented seeing slow burning meteorites. One pilot suggested slow moving "space junk." We then noticed the bright white/orange light would dim as it climbed higher on the horizon. These two lights would climb to about 15-20° above the horizon then dive back down to the original inclination, almost chasing each other at times. At the lower inclinations, they were brighter and the speculation was that we were seeing the sun reflect off the objects more brightly as the lower inclination. After a few circuits, the two lights would fade away to the right or left of our course, and then reappear a few moments later. Occasionally, a third light would cross horizontally across the horizon sometimes while the other two were maneuvering. They appeared well above us, and we expected to eventually fly beneath the lights. After 20 minutes the lights climbed slightly higher but not as quickly as we expected, and their erratic maneuvers continued. We speculated that these might be military aircraft and we were seeing afterburners, but it did not make sense. I asked ABQ center if they had any military traffic above us, and they replied negatively. We contacted AAL102 which was 50-100NM ahead of us and they confirmed they were watching the same thing and they were not flying beneath us. After 300NM, the inclination of these maneuvers only climbed from about 10° to 20° above the horizon and they still appeared to be hundreds of miles away. At about 1145Z the lights faded away. Speculation was that the rising sun and angle of inclination was beginning to obscure the reflection. If the objects were maneuvering in the same area as we traveled east, and the inclination increased 10° in 300NM, my rough calculations put the objects about 600NM away at an altitude above 100NM. I've been an aviation profession for almost 40 years, and I've never seen nor reported something I could not explain.

AA116 Occurred: 2024-01-14 11:00 Z Local =
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At the time of the sighting they were right in the middle of the Starlink Flare band. The sightings stopped pretty much at the when they exited the band. So likely that this was another Starlink Flare sighting.
https://www.metabunk.org/u/MQjLoT.html
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Another one?


Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1ew0178/lights_in_the_atlantic_ocean_updated_with_video/


External Quote:

Lights in the Atlantic Ocean

Ok this has been bugging me for years long story short I'm part of an air crew we operate in the Atlantic Ocean. The sighting has been confirmed by many of my crew members from as far back as the mid 2000s

I have seen rocket launches , military aircraft and many shooting stars, this is something else. It has also been sighted by many other aircraft on numerous occasions , air traffic control has confirmed that there were no rocket launches or military activity in the area.

Observation based on last nights signting:

Observed on a clear night between 0630utc - 0730utc , I have seen this phenomenon well over 20 times.

I could see Jupiter off to the east and Polaris to the left of Jupiter. Three then sometimes as much as six dancing lights off to the Horizon and above Variable patterns form with no order , sometimes they form a triangle sometimes they appear to chase after each other. Each sighting last for about 15 seconds and then the lights fade out completely.
This repeats like a playback sometimes and sometimes they start in a different location , the colors sometimes go from red to orange to white. The lights are as bright as a star it also appears to be really far away and the movements are so fast , faster than any moving aircraft and not the mention the ability to change direction instantly.

The lights move in varying patterns at speeds no aircraft or even a rocket can compare to but not faster than a shooting star (which are usually in our atmosphere the sighting appears to be very far out into space)

As we traverse north of Bermuda they appear higher and higher on the night sky putting them outside of my windows view

Details on location of sighting:

38000ft Western Atlantic airspace Magnetic heading of 001 Began at N25 W067 Ends at N33 28.9 W068 44.6

This area is north of Puerto Rico but south of Bermuda.

Any information or ideas are welcome , I have searched the Internet far and wide and cannot get an answer.

I will try to update this thread with a video if I can get my hands on a camera to capture starlight.

Update video footage captured
 
Pilot reported seeing lights to atc

I am at work right now, and our ATC just got a confirmation from the pilot of RYR8EH of seeing unusual lights NW of his position. He has been seeing them for the past 10 minutes approximately. He reported it at previous sector (Serbia) as well before contacting ours. When asked about it by our ATC he noted the lights were still present but we're moving further away than when he noticed them at previous sector. He is flying from LROP to LEPA, and his report came at about 20:10 UTC. You can find the path on flight radar as I'm not sure I can post full photos from our radar here. There was nothing unusual on the screen from our side. Photo is of the flight in question, cropped.


Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1ft5qhf/pilot_at_38000_feet_reported_numerous_lights/

Speed-debunked in Sitrec... (I think this is the first one I've done where the aircraft was still in flight! :p)

https://www.metabunk.org/u/Grbi5L.html

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Pilot called the local Sheriffs office to report the UAP incident


External Quote:

NUFORC UFO Sighting 182630

Occurred: 2024-08-12 23:30 Local
Reported: 2024-08-13 12:46 Pacific
Duration: from 11:30PM to 1:30 AM
No of observers: 2 - Pilot - Aviation Expert

Location: Westminster, MD, USA
Location details: approximately 1 miles south west of KDMW airport

Shape: Cylinder
Color: white
Estimated Size: no idea
Viewed From: Land
Direction from Viewer: NNE
Angle of Elevation: 32
Closest Distance: no idea
Estimated Speed: at least 150-200 MPH


I noticed a very intense white pin point source of light at the lower portion of Ursa Major at 11:30PM. This light was a white color which lasted about 5 seconds and then completely vanished. I ignored this until I saw within minutes two other lights behaving in the same manner but not as intense in
brightness. This drew me to get my binoculars and get on my deck to observe the area better. The intense bright lights fading away went on over and over every 2-5 minutes for over an hour, while I also noticed multiple UAP (most in a 2- flight formation- one above the other - and at times three flight
with one above another and a third UAP trailing the other two- see my drawings included). These less bright UAP were visible to the naked eye, but were much better observed through my binoculars. I tried to video and take still pictures with my IPHONE 13, however it was not capable of imaging the UAP. I also observed one object go in the opposite direction (from NNE travel to a NNW track and make an abrupt change in its flight path going at a right angle before fading out At that point I called the Carroll County Sheriffs Office, The Maryland State Police Westminster, MD barracks as well as Leidos Flight service (1-800WXBRIEF) to see if they had any PIREPS or radar hits. None of the aforementioned agencies offered any ideas or help. I stopped viewing the objects myself at 1:30 AM as I had to get to sleep, however at the time they continued to just keep showing up every 2-3 minutes.

These WERE NOT star link satellites, as I have observed these many times and these objects did not display ANY characteristics of Starlink satellites. I have never witnessed regular satellites that fly in formation or flights of three and or appear so rapidly in succession. These objects appear to have been close enough to P40 (Camp David -site R) to be concerning.

My daughter, who is 18, also witnessed these objects with me.

Who am I:

I am a licensed medical profession and a private pilot (200 hours, single engine land). I was not under the influence of ANY medication or alcohol.

Lets check:
Date: 2024-08-12 23:30 Local = UTC-4 = 2024-08-13 03:30 UTC
Location: Westminster, MD, USA = 39.57658506960671, -77.00575630005642

Checking sitrec, starlink flares would have been visible towards the north at the time the witness saw the lights

https://www.metabunk.org/u/XdDSRM.html
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I saw this interesting timelapsed gif of comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS over at spaceweather.com. I think it is appropriate to place it here. It shows the nuisance of Starlink...

Here is the gif:
 

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I saw this interesting timelapsed gif of comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS over at spaceweather.com. I think it is appropriate to place it here. It shows the nuisance of Starlink...
Excellent! I managed to catch a glimpse of Comet A3 myself, last night, using binoculars. Not exactly the comet of the century, or even the year.

Does anyone know why the Starlink flares show up as stripey streaks? Are they rotating? Or is that an artifact of the camera?
 
Does anyone know why the Starlink flares show up as stripey streaks? Are they rotating? Or is that an artifact of the camera?
The satellites's solar panel is rotating along with the orbit, hence the "flare": the sun is reflecting and "sweeping across the Earth's surface. So a viewer will only see the flare happening for a short duration.
 
Hmm; interesting. Perhaps the 'stripes' we can see are caused by sun-glints off the individual solar panels.
 
I think the striping is a camera artefact the individual flares to the naked eye look like a moving point of light that shows very briefly.

A lot of cameras have longer shutters and other techniques on this timelapse like a progressive merge of previous frames to enhance visibility for low light.

This causes faster moving objects to leave trails and show for longer than to the naked eye.

You can see the the same effect in the slower moving stars (moving because of the rotation of the earth)
 
Just saw this one on Reddit.


Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1gd5yek/posted_by_charlie_kirk_1_hour_ago_on_x_ufos/?share_id=PGdQ_bQfbFax0vyyMfZXh&utm_content=1&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

Video description on X: "I was flying back from Wisconsin on a friend's plane tonight and got called up to the cockpit. The pilots were very confused at what they were seeing. Something was above them and not showing on radar. I'm sure there is a logical explanation here. Watch this video and tell me what I am missing"

I don't have time to investigate right now, but it could be a fun one with all that cockpit imagery.

Edit; Debunked by @Mick West on X...


Source: https://x.com/MickWest/status/1850419512803528704?t=hszHtWER08v1I9Rln0VSIA&s=19
 
Did Mick work out the flight? The location seems to be North of Texa there's more information in the audio than you can make out from the burry video. The full phone video is likely much clearer.
 
I don't have time to investigate right now, but it could be a fun one with all that cockpit imagery.

Edit; Debunked by @Mick West on X...
I couldn't really get anything from the cockpit, but as he said he was flying "back from Wisconsin" I asked ChatGPT where he was based and it told me Phoenix, Arizona, and so i just put it roughly half way there.

The video isn't really good enough to sync up, even with a precise time/location. It was "a friend's plane", so presumably a private jet, which often fly over 40,000 feet for speed.
 
Did Mick work out the flight? The location seems to be North of Texa there's more information in the audio than you can make out from the burry video. The full phone video is likely much clearer.
I did not. They say "Flying over New Mexico", "at 40,000 feet" with aircraft below them at 8,000 and 6,000 feet

They also misinterpret the motion as "circling" which is very common.

Oh, he says "nearly in Arizona, here's Gallup (New Mexico)"
2024-10-27_05-21-03.jpg
 
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