Identify the pattern before naming the object.
Movement, duration, blinking, formation, fragmentation and timing usually matter more than color.
What Was That Light in the Sky?
Separate aircraft, satellites, meteors, planets, aurora and atmospheric effects from observable clues.
Read guide →COMPARESatellite or Plane? How to Tell at Night
Compare satellite motion with aircraft strobes, apparent speed, direction and current ADS-B context.
Read guide →MULTIPLE LIGHTSStarlink or UFO? The Line-of-Lights Test
Why evenly spaced lights often point to Starlink deployment trains, and which observations do not fit.
Read guide →STREAKS & BREAKUPSMeteor or Space Debris Reentry?
Use duration, fragmentation, speed and fireball/launch data to separate two dramatic sky events.
Read guide →COLORGreen Fireball: What the Color Can and Cannot Tell You
Understand why green meteors happen and why color alone cannot identify a fireball.
Read guide →LONG-TAIL CHECKLine of Lights in the Sky Tonight
A checklist for Starlink trains, aircraft formations, lanterns and perspective effects.
Read guide →ROCKET EFFECTSSpiral Light in the Sky: Rocket Plume or Something Else?
Why upper-stage fuel dumps can form luminous spirals and how launch timing helps.
Read guide →BRIGHT OBJECTBright “Star” Next to the Moon
Why Venus and Jupiter are frequent answers, and when a stationary light may be something else.
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