Starlink satellites aren’t just photobombing astronomy photos — they might be sneaking into Google Maps too.
A Reddit user viewing an area of Texas using the satellite image layer on Google Maps spotted a possible Starlink craft zipping past. According to Google Earth, the image was taken on November 30 by an Airbus satellite above northern Texas and happened to catch the suspected Starlink craft orbiting below at 17,000 miles per hour.
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The satellite might belong to SpaceX’s Starlink network given the craft’s appearance and the presence of two solar panel arrays. In August 2024, satellite imagery provider BlackSky also captured a Starlink V2 mini satellite orbiting over the Pacific Ocean near Alaska.
The Starlink V2 mini has adopted a dual solar array when older Starlink satellites had one array. (Credit: BlackSky)
That said, it hasn’t been confirmed that the satellite belongs to Starlink. SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. However, astronomer and satellite tracking expert Jonathan McDowell says it’s plausible the satellite is also a Chinese craft, Ziyuan-3-2; one Reddit user found evidence that it was crossing the same area on November 30.
In the meantime, the Google Maps image also stands out because it shows the satellite racing across the planet while seemingly leaving a green, blue, and red afterimage. McDowell says this is because the Airbus Pleiades satellite likely snapped the photo using different spectral bands.
The circled area shows what might be a near-infrared image of the satellite. (Credit: Google Maps)
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The Airbus satellite’s sensors probably first captured the satellite in the red, blue, and green wavelengths, in addition to gray-scale “panchromatic” and an even fainter near-infrared band, before combining them.
The image naturally makes us wonder if Starlink satellites have been popping up in more satellite images. But for now, Google, Airbus, and Maxar Intelligence, which also helped supply the image, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Currently, over 7,200 Starlink satellites are in orbit, up from 1,000 in early 2021. The growing constellation has enabled SpaceX to deliver high-speed internet to over 5 million subscribers across the globe.
SpaceX has also reduced the amount of sunlight its satellites can reflect to prevent them from interfering with astronomy research. Still, some astronomers remain concerned that the growing Starlink constellation poses a problem for their observations and the environment, saying that more research is needed to examine Starlink’s potential toll on the ozone layer.
About Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
