SWARMS of satellites brighter than any star in the night sky will soar over Britain again this evening.
The dazzling contraptions look a bit like shooting stars and are built by SpaceX, a US rocket firm that wants to beam super-fast Wi-Fi to people from orbit.
Starlink satellites over London on Monday evening Credit: Alamy Live News
UK stargazers have already been treated to two rare showings since Sunday, with a third scheduled for tonight – and we’ve got all the info on how to spot them. 
What is Starlink?
Starlink is a project run by SpaceX, a rocket firm based in California that’s headed up by controversial billionaire Elon Musk.
It is in the process of sending up a satellite network – known as a mega constellation – that can beam internet coverage down to any location on Earth.
More than satellites have been launched so far, with the network eventually set to reach , , rising to as many as , (in the future.)
SpaceX sends its satellites up in batches of at a time. Each group is launched atop an unmanned Falcon 9 rocket built and operated by SpaceX.
How the probes will affect the night sky is causing concern as they sit in a low orbit, so appear brighter than stars and planets.
533 Starlink satellites appear as bright streaks in the night sky when captured in long exposure photographs Credit: James Newman / Triangle News
Starlink is a project run by SpaceX, which is owned by kooky billionaire Elon Musk Credit: AFP or licensors When is tonight’s Starlink show?
Above Britain, one batch of Starlink satellites will appear in the sky around 8: pm BST.
They will emerge as “trains” of bright spots that move a little like shooting stars without tails.
Stargazers can expect to see 55 or so of them glide across the sky for around six minutes.
A second showing will occur at roughly 4: 18 am on Wednesday, lasting for four minutes.
The satellites are so bright that you won’t need binoculars or a telescope to see them.
It goes without saying that your best chance of seeing them requires clear skies and as little light around you as possible.
Try not to stare at your phone too much and to turn off outside lights to dampen the effects of light pollution.
Be warned that Starlink satellites can be up to ten minutes “late”.
Not sure where to look? Your phone’s got you covered.
There are a number of stargazing apps you can use to follow the path of Starlink probes.
On the Apple App Store, we’d recommend , which is free and helps you find all kinds of celestial wonders.
For Android fans, Satellite Tracker should do the trick (it’s also available on iPhone
).
Alternatively, you can visit the Find Starlink website (or the “Find Starlink Satellites” app) and enter your location.
Starlink probes appear in stargazing apps like Night Sky Credit: Night Sky
In the UK, Starlink satellites will begin to show up in the night sky around 8: PM BST (Credit: James Newman / Triangle News Why are Starlink satellites appearing over the UK and why are they so bright?
According to space experts, the current high rate of sightings is due to the satellites being in low orbit after they first launch.
SpaceX launches Starlink satellites in batches of before they are gradually rise to a higher orbit and become less visible.
The most recent batch was fired into space in mid-March, with another batch scheduled for liftoff on April .
The satellites have been deliberately designed to be light and compact so they can be launched in large batches.
The satellites have been deliberately designed to be light and compact so they can be launched in large batches. Pictured are (Starlink satellites in the nose of a Flacon 9 rocket) Credit: Elon Musk / Twitter
Brits who spotted the celestial streaks on Sunday night took to Twitter to voice their confusion Credit: Chalky / Twitter Recent sightings
UK stargazers have been treated to Starlink showings during the past two evenings.
The first took place on Sunday night at around 9: 55 pm BST, while another occurred on Monday at about 9. 150 pm.
Brits took to social media to express their delight at the rare events, which are due to continue throughout this week.
“I just watched # Starlink pass over Brighton, UK . Looks stunning, “one Twitter user said.
Another gushed: “Wow, what a spectacle! My wife and I went out and saw a dozen satellites and two shooting stars. If I remember just one thing about April it ‘ ll surely be this. “
SpaceX Starlink satellites spotted streaking through the sky over Kosovo
Reports of sightings were spread across the UK, with users in London, Manchester and Leeds among those taking to social media to report seeing the craft.
Some people compared the dazzling satellites to UFOs.
“These starlink satellites in the uk are terrifying me those m r f rs looking like UFOS,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another quipped: “I’m seeing the # Starlink satellites but they’re going off in different directions. Not a straight formation. Unless these are UFOs.
55 A train of parallel satellites can be seen in this time-lapse image taken in Italy Credit: Farra Observatory Is Starlink ‘blocking’ the night sky?
The Starlink program is controversial among astronomers, who have slammed Musk’s hare-brained scheme.
They say Starlink gets in the way of observations due to light reflected off the the satellites.
University of Western Ontario meteor researcher Denis Vida stated in a blog post last year: “One has to be concerned how will our skies look like when hearing that there are plans to launch a total of , satellites.
“This might completely deny us to do any optical meteor observations as soon as . ”
Never one to take something lying down, Musk has lashed back at his critics, claiming the satellites have no such impact.
Speaking at a conference in Washington DC last month, he said: “I am confident that we will not cause any impact whatsoever in astronomical discoveries. Zero. That’s my prediction.
“We’ll take corrective action if it’s above zero.”
SpaceX engineers are also said to be looking into making the satellites a bit less shiny so they won’t reflect the sun as much.
537 Space junk threatens to clog up Earth’s orbit (artist impression) Credit: Science Photo Library / Corbis
Will Starlink ‘trap’ humanity on Earth?
There are concerns that humanity could be trapped on Earth by too much space junk in Earth’s orbit.
That’s according to one space scientist, who says Starlink could create an impenetrable wall of rubbish around our planet.
A catastrophic clutter of space debris left behind by the satellites could block rockets from leaving Earth, an effect known as “Kessler syndrome”.
“The worst case is: You launch all your satellites, you go bankrupt, and they all stay there,” European Space Agency scientist Dr Stijn Lemmens told (Scientific American .
“Then you have thousands of new satellites without a plan of getting them out of there. And you would have a Kessler-type of syndrome.”
It will take thousands of years for any SpaceX satellites left in our orbit to descend to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.
The firm says it’s already taken steps to avoid cluttering up the region. It’s launching the satellites into a lower orbital plane than most space tech to avoid collisions.
SpaceX’s fourth launch of Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 150 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings