'Purr-fect home': Why are cats cozying up to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite in winters?

Customers of the internet broadband firm run by SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk have been reporting rather strange sightings—purring felines perched atop a Starlink satellite antenna dish, that has suddenly become the furry beings’ ideal crib during the harsh winters. It is now certain that cats have accepted Musk’s Starlink satellite dish receivers as their new home, but one is compelled to think what’s causing it? 

Dishy McFlatface: Cats' new congregation point 

The incident first gained attention when a Canadian, a longtime Starlink user, revealed on Twitter that he spotted no less than five felines resting upon his Starlink dish. The sight, at first, both confused and startled Aaron Taylor, from Alberta. Then, several such reports flowed in with users narrating that they had noticed a similar trend as a clowder of cats rested comfortably on Starlink satellite receivers installed at outdoor locations.

According to a Futurism report, Musk’s customers took matters into their own hands and got down to investigating as to why the Starlink dish was so good at attracting cats. Turns out, the broadband internet company’s high-latency, usage-capped traditional satellite broadband service’s dish receivers, dubbed as “Dishy McFlatface” by SpaceX customers, were apparently “generating heat.” 

“I was checking my dish with a thermal sight and it actually looks like the whole dish, even the back side is warm,” a user wrote on Reddit, going as far as getting outdoor and inspecting the Starlink dish using thermal imaging. “So you might [see] animals under or around it in general if it’s ground-mounted.”

Heat radiation from Musk’s broadband internet service’s dish receivers has been a longtime unresolved ‘issue’ for some of the Starlink customers. SpaceX could “resort to some form of active heat removals like fans or thermoelectric cooling,” a user had suggested in a complaint on Reddit. “They’ve got a lot of custom silicon in there, which is likely the limiting factor,” the user stated as he complained about Musk’s ‘Next-Gen' broadband service overheating in Arizona Desert. 

While Starlink’s “Dishy McFlatface” has often been given a recommendation to better manage its heating system in the past, as the winters kick in across the United States—the felines might recommend otherwise. Cats now group on top of SpaceX’s new low-orbit satellite for warmth as they take advantage of the heat that it produces. SpaceX’s internet service's dishes that use orbital satellites has become a major spot of terrestrial feline infestation. Musk’s fans believe that the dish may turn into a winter thermal point for smaller critters, as well. It, however at this time, remains unclear if the felines' new congregation spot has caused service interruptions. 

Image: AP, Twitter/@SpX_memes