027_Satellite_Flaring_Paper.pdf

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
1 
An AARO Information Paper
Correlations of Starlink1 Satellite Flaring with UAP 
Observations 
December 2024 
Introduction 
With the advent of satellite communication mega-constellations including the SpaceX Starlink, 
Eutelsat OneWeb, Amazon Kuiper, and Chinese G60 constellations, there are currently thousands 
of artificial satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO)2 and tens of thousands more planned for launch 
over the next decade [1]. Satellite flaring is an optical phenomenon which occurs when sunlight 
reflects off a satellite's surfaces, such as…

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
2 
comparable to starlight. Due to their construction and orientation, many man-made satellites in 
LEO diffusely reflect sunlight and can appear as stars that move across the night sky.  
Figure 1: Graphic of Starlink satellites in orbit. Ref: https://www.heavens-
above.com/StarLink.aspx 
Specular reflection, also known as glint, occurs from a very smooth, mirror-like surface as 
illustrated on the right side of Figure 2. Unlike diffusely reflected light, the light striking a smooth 
surface reflects light at the same, or nearly the same, angle as …

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
3 
These very bright, short lived flashes of light are called “satellite flares” or “satellite glint.” The 
design, launch, and operation of SpaceX Starlink mega-constellations has led to a significant 
increase in the sighting of satellite flares, dubbed “Starlink flares,” noted by scientists and non-
scientists alike. 
Figure 3: Illustration of (a) diffuse reflection of sunlight from a satellite and (b) specular 
reflection of sunlight from a satellite as viewed by an observer on the surface of the Earth. 
Satellite Flares and Satellite Trains 
Fi…

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
4 
dozens of small satellites during a single launch event. Immediately following a launch, and for 
several days afterward, these satellites form a distinctive line of bright objects before fading as 
they ascend to their final orbital positions. Figure 5 below provides examples of each flare 
scenario. 
Figure 4: Rendering of Starlink satellite noting the satellite’s bus and solar panel components. 
Adapted from [5]. 
Starlink satellites transition through three orbital phases on their way to their final orbit, with each 
phase creating a differen…

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
5 
After the satellites have separated and traversed a specific distance from one another, they enter 
the second phase known as orbital raise. During this phase, the satellites navigate from their initial 
low orbit to their final orbital altitude, which is nominally 550km for the current generation of 
Starlink satellites. During the ascent, drag arises due to skin friction along the satellites’ surfaces. 
To reduce the effects of drag, the satellites orient into a streamlined profile by shifting their solar 
panels parallel to the Earth, see Figu…

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
6 
that discuss how to the predict the azimuth and elevation angles of satellite flares to assist a ground-
based observer. The key to performing this prediction is to understand the position of the sun 
relative to the satellite and the observer. 
Figure 7: Image of Starlink flare taken by AARO personnel before sunrise on March 11, 2024 
near Sidney, NE. Image was taken using a 10 second exposure time which led to the Starlink 
flare appearing as a streak instead of a point source. [7] 
Figure 8: Image of multiple Starlink flares taken by AARO pers…

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
7 
the Sun and the Earth’s surface at the horizon as viewed from an observer’s position on the earth. 
During the day, solar altitude is a positive number expressed in degrees above the horizon. Solar 
altitude is negative at night, expressed in degrees below the horizon. Solar azimuth describes the 
angle to the Sun as referenced from true North at the observer’s position, e.g., 90° being due East 
and 270° being due West. Seasonal changes affect the measurement of solar azimuth because of 
the Earth's 23.5° axial tilt. In the northern hemisphere, …

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
8 
where ℎ is satellite height above the Earth’s surface, 𝑅𝐸 is the Earth’s radius. As the zenith angle 
is complementary angle of the look angle, 𝜀, the substitution 𝑧=
𝜋
2 −𝜀 has been made in Equation
(1). 
Equation (1) is a transcendental equation, meaning that it must be solved numerically to find  as 
a function of 𝑎, the sun’s altitude. Using the mathematical software package MATLAB®, a plot 
was generated and is shown in Figure 10 for various Starlink satellite constellations, each of which 
have varying orbital altitudes between abou…