Elon Musk's Starlink satellites: How to spot them

If you look up at the night sky tonight, you won't just be seeing stars but satellites too!

They're part of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite fleet which will be visible above UK skies again tonight.

Starlink is a chain of satellites launched by Mr Musk's company SpaceX, which will form part of a massive network of 12,000 satellites aiming to provide new higher-speed internet connections across the world in the future.

The satellites appear as small, fast-moving bright lights, and can be spotted in the sky without binoculars or a telescope.

Many areas of the UK are likely have poor visibility over the next few days, making the satellites harder to see.

But if you do manage to find some clear sky, you'll want to have as little light around you as possible to see the satellites clearly, so avoid looking at your phone screen too much and turn off any outdoor lighting.

The Starlink satellites were launched into space in March but their current orbital position has made them easier to see in recent days.

Late last month people reported seeing the satellites from Derbyshire, Manchester, London, and Leeds.

This is what the Starlink satellites looked like when they appeared over Denmark

Although some astronomy fans have enjoyed spotting the satellites, others have been annoyed because they can make it more difficult to see actual stars and planets clearly.

There are many satellites in space already, but the Starlink satellites are particularly easy to spot because of how close they are to Earth and their large size.

They also have big flat panels which reflect light, making them appear much brighter in the sky.

SpaceX successfully launched 60 Starlink satellites from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral on 22 April 2020

Some experts are worried about the number of satellites that could be launched in the next few years and how this might potentially clog up the space environment.

There are around 2,000 operational satellites in orbit today, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, and so with SpaceX's plans for 12,000 and many other companies planning satellite launches, this number is set to grow much larger.

After the first set of satellites was launched there were concerns about the satellites being too bright and forming a 'mega constellation', causing serious problems for astronomers

Elon Musk has said his company aims to reduce the brightness of the satellites, tweeting: "We are taking some key steps to reduce satellite brightness btw.

"Should be much less noticeable during orbit raise by changing solar panel angle & all sats get sunshades starting with launch 9."

Have you seen the satellites already? Or will you be watching tonight? Let us know in the comments.