What is that bright, moving star in the night sky that you see?

There are nights when the sky is clear and cloudless, and you look up and see countless sparkling lights, some of which are moving. What are they?

No need to worry! The bright, smoothly moving object you see is a man-made (artificial) satellite . There are just under 3,000 satellites orbiting the Earth as we speak, and many of them are visible in the night sky.

The sparkling lights moving across the night sky could be artificial satellites. (Illustration photo).

These satellites are operated by private companies, national governments, and scientific agencies for a variety of purposes. Every time you open Google Earth or Google Maps, you will see thousands of composite images of the Earth's surface taken by satellites! Some radio services, such as Sirius XM, are operated using satellites.

Some governments and militaries use satellites to take pictures of the Earth's surface, whether to investigate national intelligence issues or to monitor large-scale weather systems like hurricanes. Some satellites are even powerful astronomical instruments, like the Hubble Space Telescope, which can take incredible images of other stars and galaxies because it orbits high enough to avoid seeing through Earth's atmosphere.

When you look up at the night sky and see what appears to be a bright star moving quickly across the sky, what you're actually seeing is a satellite reflecting the Sun's surface in just the right way for you to see it .

It usually moves quickly, since most satellites are close enough to Earth that they orbit the Earth in less than a day (so if you get stuck for a few hours, you might see the same satellite fly across the sky again). The satellites you see are no cause for concern, although many astronomers worry that launching more satellites into space (like Elon Musk's plans for the Starlink satellite constellation) will make it harder for us to see satellites against all the amazing stars and galaxies waiting to be explored.

In addition to satellites, there are a number of other reasons for the bright moving objects you see in the sky, including:

• Civil aircraft : When the lights are turned on, they become very bright objects in the sky, with a brightness equal to or even brighter than Venus.
• Meteorological balloon: Usually hovering, brightness equivalent to a star.
• International Space Station ISS : Moving across the sky in an orbit usually above the horizon, very bright and fast.
• Shooting star : Flashes very bright and then disappears, actually it's just a meteor
•  Artificial military flying devices with lights are often confusing.

Death 11.5 Billion Years Ago Bombs NASA: A Chilling Prediction for Us

Dark Monster Strong Enough to Swallow 10 Suns Appears Near Us

7 extremely popular questions about the world that everyone is confident they know everything about, but are actually completely wrong.