By Tim Binnall
A peculiar string of lights spotted in the night sky by several witnesses throughout northern India sparked UFO speculation on social media in the country, but it would appear that the odd sight had a more down-to-earth explanation. According to a local media report, the mesmerizing mass sighting took place on Friday evening at approximately 7 PM local time, when people living in and around the northern city of Pathankot suddenly noticed a puzzling set of glowing objects that appeared to form a straight line. Although the incident lasted a mere five minutes before the lights vanished from view, social media in India was soon flooded with photos and videos of the strange scene as some theorized that it could have been alien in nature.
However, before fears of an ET invasion could take hold, military officials in India provided a terrestrial explanation for the strange lights, indicating that they were satellites. While they did not specifically say that the sighting was connected to the SpaceX Starlink Satellite project, many have theorized that to be the case by virtue of the string-like formation of the lights and since the company actually launched a cluster of around 50 of the controversial craft the day prior to the incident. Should it be the case that the 'UFOs' were, indeed, Starlink satellites, it would not be the first time that they have caused such confusion as a similar mass sighting gripped parts of the western United States back in May.