Flickering ‘alien’ lights in Charlotte sky spark UFO theories. Is this all it was?

Julia Coin
·1 min read
Images by Twitter users @body_by_nuggies and @Natelane_ show the band of SpaceX satellites slinking across Charlotte’s sky May 4, 2023.
Images by Twitter users @body_by_nuggies and @Natelane_ show the band of SpaceX satellites slinking across Charlotte’s sky May 4, 2023.

A mysterious band of flickering lights sparked UFO conspiracies when it slinked across Charlotte’s cloudy sky late Monday night.

“It’s the aliens!” a person exclaimed in a video shared to Twitter.

But the flashing lights were just Elon Musk — or at least his satellites, according to local meteorologist Brad Panovich.

Musk’s SpaceX Starlink satellites, the “world’s first and largest satellite constellation,” closely orbit Earth to deliver high-speed internet to its customers, according to the SpaceX website.

The fleet, introduced in 2019, gained 56 satellites after a launch from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday, according to SpaceX.

The aerospace company has launched more than 4,000 Starlink satellites, and about 300 are no longer in orbit, according to astronomer Jonathan McDowell.

SpaceX is expected to launch its next Starlink batch Tuesday, according to Space Coast Launches.

‘The UFO man.’ One time, North Carolina had a dean of the lights in the sky.