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Will Manmade Satellites Outnumber All Visible Stars

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  • Will Manmade Satellites Outnumber All Visible Stars

    After SpaceX Launch, a Fear of Satellites That Outnumber All Visible Stars

    AACeR9w.img.jpeg

    Last month, SpaceX successfully launched 60 500-pound satellites into space. Soon amateur skywatchers started sharing images of those satellites in night skies, igniting an uproar among astronomers who fear that the planned orbiting cluster will wreak havoc on scientific research and trash our view of the cosmos.

    The main issue is that those 60 satellites are merely a drop in the bucket. SpaceX anticipates launching thousands of satellites — creating a mega-constellation of false stars collectively called Starlink that will connect the entire planet to the internet, and introduce a new line of business for the private spaceflight company.

    While astronomers agree that global internet service is a worthy goal, the satellites are bright — too bright.

    “This has the potential to change what a natural sky looks like,” said Tyler Nordgren, an astronomer who is now working full-time to promote night skies.

    And SpaceX is not alone. Other companies, such as Amazon, Telesat and OneWeb, want to get into the space internet business. Their ambitions to make satellites nearly as plentiful as cellphone towers highlight conflicting debates as old as the space age about the proper use of the final frontier.

    While private companies see major business opportunities in low-Earth orbit and beyond, many skygazers fear that space will no longer be “the province of all mankind,” as stated in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

  • #2
    Light pollution where I live is already so bad, we call it The Lone Star State. If people were concerned about being able to see the night sky, complaining about a few satellites is too little, too late.
    Curiosity never hurt anyone. It was stupidity that killed the cat.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by QuantaFille View Post
      Light pollution where I live is already so bad, we call it The Lone Star State. If people were concerned about being able to see the night sky, complaining about a few satellites is too little, too late.
      Fortunately, in my part of the (actual) Lone Star State, we live far enough "out in the country" where there is, on most nights, a gorgeous view of the night sky.
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

      Comment


      • #4
        I would be more worried about space pollution. We already have way too much in orbit. It causes all sorts of problems trying to track it all.

        Musk said they are going to make the satellites less reflective so that probably isn't going to be the main problem:

        Musk wrote on Twitter today (May 27) that he's already instructed teams to look into making future Starlink internet communications satellites less shiny to lower their "albedo," or reflectivity. He pointed that out in response to a direct call from a com menter on Twitter.

        "Agreed, sent a note to Starlink team last week specifically regarding albedo reduction," Musk wrote. "We'll get a better sense of value of this when satellites have raised orbits & arrays are tracking to sun."
        https://www.space.com/spacex-starlin...elon-musk.html

        --
        I also wonder what a 500 pound satellite would do if it fell out of orbit? Would it burn up totally or not?. If not, there are going to be a lot of them above our heads. And they are in a low orbit, meaning more drag on them.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Sparko View Post
          I would be more worried about space pollution. We already have way too much in orbit. It causes all sorts of problems trying to track it all.

          Musk said they are going to make the satellites less reflective so that probably isn't going to be the main problem:

          Musk wrote on Twitter today (May 27) that he's already instructed teams to look into making future Starlink internet communications satellites less shiny to lower their "albedo," or reflectivity. He pointed that out in response to a direct call from a com menter on Twitter.

          "Agreed, sent a note to Starlink team last week specifically regarding albedo reduction," Musk wrote. "We'll get a better sense of value of this when satellites have raised orbits & arrays are tracking to sun."
          https://www.space.com/spacex-starlin...elon-musk.html

          --
          I also wonder what a 500 pound satellite would do if it fell out of orbit? Would it burn up totally or not?. If not, there are going to be a lot of them above our heads. And they are in a low orbit, meaning more drag on them.
          I remember 30 or 40 years ago an article about a "space trash collector" (I think it was Popular Science) because there was so much debris out there, that they were working on a way to corral it into manageable "piles". It was met with ridicule because of the immense scope of the challenge.
          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
            I remember 30 or 40 years ago an article about a "space trash collector" (I think it was Popular Science) because there was so much debris out there, that they were working on a way to corral it into manageable "piles". It was met with ridicule because of the immense scope of the challenge.
            This is just the stuff we can track:

            http://stuffin.space/

            Comment


            • #7
              Q. How many astronomers does it take to change a light bulb?

              A. Just one, if he's a good shot with a pellet gun.

              Comment

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