There have been a lot of people across the country looking up to the sky since a Chinese space spy balloon was shot down over the Atlantic ocean last week.

Recovery of High Altitude Surveillance Balloon Off South Carolina Coast
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As efforts began to recover the downed spy balloon we had several more ballons over Alaska, Canada, and Michigan that have been shot down by the U.S. Military.

Recovery of High Altitude Surveillance Balloon Off South Carolina Coast
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On Tuesday night around 7:50 pm, there were some strange lights over the West Michigan sky but thankfully they weren't from a spy balloon or a UFO.

The strange light people saw was something called Starlink.

What Is Starlink?

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.

SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 Rocket With 53 Starlink Satellites
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Leveraging advanced satellites and user hardware, Starlink delivers high-speed, low-latency internet to users all over the world.

SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 Rocket With 53 Starlink Satellites
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How Does Starlink Work?

Technology isn't my strong suit, but this is how Starlink works according to them.

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites Aboard Falcon 9 Rocket
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Most satellite internet services come from single satellites that orbit the planet. As a result, the round trip data time between the user and satellite is high, making it nearly impossible to support streaming, online gaming, video calls, or other high data rate activities.

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites Aboard Falcon 9 Rocket
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Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that orbit the planet and cover the entire globe. Because Starlink satellites are in a low orbit, latency is significantly lower.

When Can You See Starlink In Michigan?

On Monday night at 7:50 pm, I was able to walk out into my backyard and see a long bright light in the sky.

The light was the sun reflecting off of the Starlink satellites making them visible to people like me on the ground.

If you're bummed you didn't see this happen on Monday night you still might have a chance to see it with your own eyes.

Credit: findstarlink.com
Credit: findstarlink.com
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