<p>Thanks for your replies. Yes it appears what I saw was Elon Musk's Starlink satellites. I didn't even know they existed, what a sight! Thank you. Chris</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-08T19:27:02.417Z
2020-08-08T19:27:02.417Z
Chris Roberts
<p>I saw something really odd last night that I cannot understand.</p>
<p>Last night I got up around 3am to catch a glimpse of the upcoming Perseids meteor shower, now I know it's not peaking until next week but we have clear skies so I thought I'd take a look. I've seen hundreds of meteor showers, so know what to expect.</p>
<p>Whilst looking at another part of the sky a large shooting star radiated from the Perseus constellation, I just missed it! However, what was left in the sky was most odd, a <em>really</em> long dotted line of what looked like dust trail from the meteor. Usually, these trails stay where there are, and slowly fade away. But this trail didn't fade and very slowly moved across night the sky in an absolutely <em>perfectly</em> straight line until it faded into the horizon.</p>
<p>From the moment I first saw it to when it fully disappeared into the horizon was probably about 30 seconds or more. What did I see?</p>
<p>(Gloucestershire, UK).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-08T16:38:45.263Z
My understanding of you description is you indirectly saw the bright flash of a fireball/meteor.  But didn't see the bright part directly.  You then saw the trail of the meteor.  This trail moved from the vicinity of Perseus towards the (easterly?) horizon,  taking about 30 seconds to cover the 45 or so degrees? Did the trail move perpendicular to itself,  so like " | →"  or in the same direction as itself " —  →"?  The "dotted" part makes me think of Musk's satellites,  Are they still in a tight constellation?  Note that the moon was up at 3am and would affect viewing significantly
James K
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-08T18:46:16.643Z
Maybe you saw a meteor and also the latest Starlink constellation (launched yesterday)?
Mick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-09T03:22:21.163Z
Welcome to Stack Exchange! Don't worry if your question is closed as duplicate, it's standard practice here. In this case you didn't see a strange trail, you just saw one of those darn starlink ttrains. Please feel free to ask a new question any time. Also, you can click "accept" on your own answer here.
uhoh
<meteor>
Strange trail left by shooting star
Chris Roberts
# Strange trail left by shooting star

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-08)

I saw something really odd last night that I cannot understand.

Last night I got up around 3am to catch a glimpse of the upcoming Perseids meteor shower, now I know it's not peaking until next week but we have clear skies so I thought I'd take a look. I've seen hundreds of meteor showers, so know what to expect.

Whilst looking at another part of the sky a large shooting star radiated from the Perseus constellation, I just missed it! However, what was left in the sky was most odd, a *really* long dotted line of what looked like dust trail from the meteor. Usually, these trails stay where there are, and slowly fade away. But this trail didn't fade and very slowly moved across night the sky in an absolutely *perfectly* straight line until it faded into the horizon.

From the moment I first saw it to when it fully disappeared into the horizon was probably about 30 seconds or more. What did I see?

(Gloucestershire, UK).

**Tags:** meteor

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: My understanding of you description is you indirectly saw the bright flash of a fireball/meteor.  But didn't see the bright part directly.  You then saw the trail of the meteor.  This trail moved from the vicinity of Perseus towards the (easterly?) horizon,  taking about 30 seconds to cover the 45 or so degrees? Did the trail move perpendicular to itself,  so like " | →"  or in the same direction as itself " —  →"?  The "dotted" part makes me think of Musk's satellites,  Are they still in a tight constellation?  Note that the moon was up at 3am and would affect viewing significantly  
> **username_2**: Maybe you saw a meteor and also the latest Starlink constellation (launched yesterday)?  
> **username_3**: Welcome to Stack Exchange! Don't worry if your question is closed as duplicate, it's standard practice here. In this case you didn't see a strange trail, you just saw one of those darn starlink ttrains. Please feel free to ask a new question any time. Also, you can click "accept" on your own answer here.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2020-08-08. Score: 2

Thanks for your replies. Yes it appears what I saw was Elon Musk's Starlink satellites. I didn't even know they existed, what a sight! Thank you. username_0


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