Eerie light display across Melbourne resembles UFOs - but there's a simple explanation
Strange lights over early morning skies in Melbourne today had some residents wondering if they were encountering a fleet of UFOs.
Observers were left scratching their heads as to what they were seeing as bright lights made their way across the sky.
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An unusual light display has lead Melbourne residents to believe they could have been witnessing unidentified flying objects. Nine/Supplied
"I saw the lights up in the sky and then another one came, then another one came, then another one came, and I was like, 'what the hell's going on here?'" witness Matt told 9News.
"So I walked out to the front of my house and I looked back to where they were coming from, and there was a whole string of them, it looked like someone had unravelled Christmas lights and put them in the sky."
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Observers were shocked by the display, unable to determine what they were seeing. Nine/Supplied
But there was a scientific explanation for the twinkling display.
It was a series of satellites coming back down to Earth.
"I would've preferred a UFO than satellites," Matt said.
People have been reporting UFO sightings in recent years after seeing the Starlink satellites, tethered from Elon Musk's SpaceX program.
It's a project aimed at improving internet capabilities.
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The eerie sight turned out to be a series of satellites returning to earth. Nine/Supplied
Each of the satellites is about the size of a table.
"They're small in comparison to things such as the International Space Station, but there are so many of them that they cause extra problems for astronomers," Perry Vlahos from the Astronomical Society of Victoria said.
"They ruin photographs of the night's sky and they add to light pollution.
"In fact, astronomers refer to them as vermin of the sky.
"Atmospheric drag will make them re-enter the atmosphere in a few years time and they'll burn up harmlessly in the upper atmosphere."
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Thousands of satellites have been launched as part of Elon Musk's SpaceX program. Nine/Supplied
About 30,000 satellites will have been launched into the atmosphere once the project has been complete.
Melburnians can expect the satellites to make another appearance early tomorrow morning.
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