Northern Michigan "UFO sighting" explained

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- Northern Michigan residents reported spotting a string of bright lights in the sky shortly after 10:30 p.m. Thursday.

The sightings grabbing the interest of Grand Traverse County dispatchers and UpNorthLive news received a video of the sighting from viewer, Ted Rickabus. Although you can't see it, here's what he said.

“I don’t know if you can see these but there’s a string of dots that’s been going across the sky tonight equally spaced, miles long. Traveled the whole length of our viewing area silently," Rickabus said.

As it turns out, the mystery lights were not UFO's, but the Starlink satellite from SpaceX.

"Those lights you saw in the sky last night were satellites from Mr. Elon Musk and his company SpaceX," said Mike Carey, Chief Strategy Officer of Atlas Space Operations in Traverse City.

"There are now 1,300 of those satellites orbiting in an effort to bring broadband communications to people around the world.”

Carey says seeing satellites isn't as rare as one may think.

“You can look up in the evening sky and see satellites every single evening. You may not always see the Starlink satellite but there’s a number of spacecraft always orbiting the scene of your local," Carey said.

Carey said the angle the satellites were put into orbit allowed them to cross over the northern Michigan night sky in a timeline close to when they were launched.

Grand Traverse 911 posted on their Facebook page that, despite what you think the lights are, it's not necessary to call 911.