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What is the mysterious greenlight in Las Vegas? Stunning pictures of SpaceX constellation take over Twitter

Residents of Las Vegas can continue to see the appearance of a string of satellites in low orbit in the future and the next occurrence is expected to take place at 4.50 am on May 6

Las Vegas experienced a rather odd event on Wednesday, May 5 when strange lights lit up the night sky. The National Weather Service office in Seattle, Washington explained the cause of these lights. 

From Pahrump to Centennial Hills, all the way to Southern California, people shared posts on Twitter to collectively wonder what this inexplicable (at the time) phenomenon was. From the pictures shared online, these lights were not something that one would have seen in the past as it was a vertical spot that lit up on the sky. 

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What is the mysterious Greenlight?

According to Space.com, it was reported that a Falcon 9 rocket belonging to SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites for the company’s broadband network from pad 39A at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission designated Starlink 25 was conducted on Tuesday, May 4. This launch is reportedly the cause of the strange phenomenon as residents of Las Vegas were able to see the satellite constellation.

This is part of the satellite constellation whose map was quoted in one of the media reports for the reference of the residents. Residents of Las Vegas can continue to see the appearance of a string of satellites in low orbit in the future and the next occurrence is expected to take place at 4.50 am on May 6.

How people reacted when they saw the sky lit up

One user tweeted a video and said, "@NWSSeattle what is this, just over Mill Creek, moving from NW to SE?" Another user shared stunning pictures and said, "Just saw a train of bright lights moving above my yard in LA. Military operations or Starlink’ Satellites, @elonmusk?"

David Charns of 8NewsNow also reported, ""WHAT IS THAT?" Several people reported seeing strange lights above Las Vegas. 🎥: Maria Young." He then added, "The lights appear to be SpaceX's Starlink satellites moving in a train." Another user wrote, "Are these Starlink satellites? Over Palm Springs. These are bright! #SpaceX." Another user responded to this and said, "Omg yes wtf just witnessed in San Bernardino had me freaking out."

Space.com explained that the satellites are reportedly a part of a larger constellation, that has nearly 1,600 in orbit to date. SpaceX claims to be working to help provide internet coverage to remote and rural parts of the world. This also marks the 13th launch of the company just this year.

The launch took place on May 4 as the company wanted to launch its own version of the "fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy," the Falcon 9, on 'Star Wars' Day, a global celebration of all things 'Star Wars'.