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On the telescope, the images are due to the long exposure time, the scratches of the satellites to see.Vimeo / SatTrackCam sufferingOn May 24, the first 60 SpaceX Starlink satellites were sent to near Earth orbit. By the year 2027, there will be a total of 12,000 satellites, which should enable rapid Internet access worldwide. But now, astronomers fear terrible consequences for human understanding of the universe.
Satellites shine more than natural stars
500 to 550 km are the satellites of the Earth. Previously, the so-called communication satellites were still traveling in more distant orbits, so bulky satellite dishes were needed for reception. Although this is no longer the case, SpaceX President & CEO Elon Musk's project caused a sensation in other respects.
A satellite can cover only a small part of the Earth, so it takes a whole fleet to provide national coverage around the world.
Although the Musk project is intriguing, astronomers are particularly concerned. After the initial observations, it was found that the satellites seemed much brighter than originally planned. This is because they have a solar panel that reflects sunlight. They are particularly visible in the morning and evening and radiate more brilliantly than natural stars.
The sight of the sky could change forever
The fact that satellites are visible to the naked eye worries many astronomers. They fear that the sight of the sky and stars will change forever. Several hundred satellites would completely change the sky.
"The potential tragedy of a mega-constellation like Starlink lies in the fact that the view of the night sky is changing for all of humanity," said Ronald Drimmel of the Astrophysics Observatory of Turin in Italy, in front of Forbes. "Starlink and other huge constellations of this magnitude would spoil the sky for everyone on this planet."
In addition, the photos taken from the space are not immaculate because the satellites leave a trace. On telescope images with a longer exposure time, several bands would be visible.
Satellites pose a problem, especially for new light-sensitive telescopes such as the Large Synoptic Surveillance Telescope (LSST) in Chile. The investigation of asteroids, for example, could be significantly affected by the bands of images, at the latest when hundreds of satellites move in space.
Elon Musk defends his project on Twitter
Elon Musk is still convinced of his project. The boss of SpaceX commented on Twitter critics. The Starlink team is already exploring ways to solve these problems so that they do not have a significant impact on science. Yet more than 3.3 billion people in the world do not yet have access to the Internet. have, more importantly, the concerns expressed by astronomers. "Helping billions of economically disadvantaged people is the greatest benefit," Musk said on Twitter.
It is not yet clear if the effects are really as dramatic as those described in the first place. Some reports point to the possibility that individual satellites are not visible at all, but only a combination of Starlink satellites exceeds the brightness of the stars and no major effect on the appearance of the sky is to be expected.
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