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The starry sky threatened by satellites, the simulation

2020-02-17T10:06:11.698Z


From the Starlink constellation of Space X to the Athena of Facebook, there are several constellations that in a few years will make the low Earth orbit busy (ANSA)


The starry sky is likely to be distorted by the new mega constellations of telecommunications satellites: not only its vision with the naked eye, but also the astronomical observations could be heavily compromised by the presence of thousands of satellites flying above the horizon, ready to reflect the light of the sun at dusk. This is indicated by the preliminary results of the simulations developed by the International Astronomical Union (Iau) together with experts from various entities, such as the European Space Agency (ESA).

From the Starlink constellation of Space X to the Athena of Facebook, there are several constellations of satellites that in a few years will make the low Earth orbit busy (under 2,000 kilometers). The simulations show that the satellites above the horizon may be from 1,500 to a few thousand, most of them in a very low position. The number of those with elevation above 30 degrees (where most astronomical observations take place) would range from 250 to 300: most should be invisible to the naked eye, but the few visible could still alter the appearance of the night sky, at least in the places where it appears darkest.

Particular attention should be paid to the phase immediately following the launches and to that of the rise of the orbit, when the satellites form pearls-like trains. Aside from the naked eye visibility, what worries astronomers is that these trails could be so bright as to saturate the detectors of large telescopes: up to 30% of the images with exposure of 30 seconds taken at dusk with the Rubin Observatory, for example , would be altered. This is why Iau says it is concerned: the constellations of satellites "will have a negative impact on the progress of astronomy from the ground, radio, optics and infrared, and will require to distract human and financial resources from basic research to study and implement measures that can mitigate the effects ".

Source: ansa

All tech articles on 2020-02-17

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