Illustration: the night side of North America seen from orbit, city lights under a thin blue atmosphere.

Mars is the finish line.

A long bright streak, the International Space Station in a twenty-second exposure, arcing over the Washington National Cathedral at night on November 29, 2017. NASA photograph.

FEATURE

What Was That in the Sky? The Lights People Mistake for UFOs, and How to Tell Them Apart

A line of lights sliding in single file, a star that will not move, a streak that is gone before you can point. Almost everything people see at night has a name. Here is how to tell which one you saw.

TONIGHT

The whole sky

The Moon, the best satellite pass and any launch in sight of you tonight, once your place is read.

The Earth setting behind the Moon's far side, photographed by the Artemis II crew from Orion on April 6, 2026.

Moon Tracker

Artemis II crew, Apr 6, 2026 · NASA

Artemis II (crewed lunar flyby)Apr 2026

Artemis III (Orion + lander docking test)Mid 2027

Artemis IV (crew on the Moon)2028

Sustained lunar presence2029+

NEXT LAUNCHES

Launches today →

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 15-16

SpaceX · Go

Watch on YouTube (SPACE AFFAIRS)

Oct 27

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 15-18

SpaceX · Go

Watch on X (SpaceX)

Oct 30

GSLV Mk II | IRNSS-1L (NVS-03)

Indian Space Research Organization · Go

Oct 30

Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-432

SpaceX · Go

Watch on X (SpaceX)

Nov 1

Electron | The Sea God Surveys (iQPS Launch 9)

Rocket Lab · TBD

Nov 3

Source: Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs) · updated Oct 27 · every launch

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EDITORIAL WATCHLIST

RKLBNeutron hype + ARK accumulation

▲ +2.3%as of Oct 26

LUNRArtemis momentum

▼ -0.4%as of Oct 26

OKLONuclear policy tailwind

▼ -1.6%as of Oct 26

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Mars is the finish line.

THE MORNING DEW

TONIGHT

NEXT LAUNCHES

EDITORIAL WATCHLIST