Here's why there were strange lights in the sky last night

Strange lights from a constellation of satellites were seen over Dorset skies last night, with some residents suggesting they had seen a UFO.

Eagle-eyed residents were quick to snap pictures of the string of lights in the skies over Dorset last night at around 7:41 pm from West to North.

The Starlink satellites over Dorchester (Image: Sam Swain) Anthony Swain and his son Sam saw the lights near the Monkeys Jump Roundabout. At first Sam thought the string of lights were aliens until they got home to google the phenomena.

Harry Every took a photo of the strange lights from Wessex Road in Weymouth with his phone.

The Starlink satellites over Weymouth (Image: Harry Every) One resident from Hamworthy spotted the sights and took a picture of what he thought was a ‘UFO’ or unidentified flying object.

The Starlink satellites over Hamworthy (Image: Kieron Gair) There is a reasonable explanation for the sightings that don’t link to a UFO, which is Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink satellite.

The constellation consists of more than 5,000 smaller satellites as of August. The technology is being used as part of the UK Government's trial to connect rural isolated homes for better internet access.

According to the Starlink trajectory, it could also be visible tonight and tomorrow from around 7.43pm from West to North, and again on Tuesday, October 22 from West to North at 7.45pm.

The satellites were visible in the night sky over North Dorset around this time last year, sparking a similar response from residents.