Light seen Sunday night over Summit County likely a SpaceX rocket

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Summit County residents spotted a white light moving across the sky around 6 p.m. Jan. 18, and a few of them took to Facebook to share photos and videos.

Speculation in comment sections about what the object could be included several theories, but according to FindStarlink.com, a website that tracks SpaceX’s Starlink rockets, it was likely Starlink Group 6-100, which launched 29 satellites into low Earth orbit.

On Sunday, Jan. 18, an orb of light soared over the Summit County sky, causing speculation as to what it could be. | Video courtesy of Leslie Weise

Starlink adds satellites to its network orbiting the Earth to provide internet connection to residential and remote areas.



Starlink Group 6-100 launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Jan. 18 around 4:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. Find Starlink states that part of the rocket could have been visible in Summit County around 6 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., although it estimated both those sightings would have poor visibility.

Commenters stated they saw the rocket in other parts of Colorado as well, and in a Texas storm chasing Facebook group, residents of the Lone Star State shared photos and videos of their sightings as well.



On the evening of Sunday, Jan. 18, a strange light was spotted over Summit County in Colorado. This view is from Keystone. Speculation in comment sections about what the object could be included several theories, but according to FindStarlink.com, a website that tracks SpaceX’s Starlink rockets, it was likely Starlink Group 6-100, which launched 29 satellites into low Earth orbit. | Video courtesy of Helton John.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command has not returned a request for information from the Summit Daily.

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