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This image of a group of distant galaxies from the Lowell Observatory of Arizona is darkened by diagonal lines from traces of Starlink satellites shortly after their launch in May.
Victoria Girgis / Lowell Observatory
The largest organization of professional astronomers in the world sounds the galactic alarm about the Elon Musk project of sending a swarm of SpaceX satellites into a low Earth orbit.
Almost immediately after a rocket Falcon 9 released the first batch of the company Starlink High Speed Internet Satellites last month, astronomers were dismayed by the clarity and visibility of the in-orbit router train is in the night sky. Now the concern has shifted from social media discussions to a more formal call for new government regulation by the International Astronomical Union.
In a statement released Monday, the IAU said that large satellite constellations such as Starlink could have unintended consequences on improving our understanding of the universe and the protection of nightlife .
"We do not yet understand the impact of thousands of these visible satellites scattered in the night sky and despite their good intentions, these satellite constellations may threaten both," the statement said.
The IAU shared the above image, which shows light bars from traces of Starlink satellites in the field of view captured by the Lowell Observatory of Arizona. The contrails darken the view of galaxy group NGC 5353/4.
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"Although this image serves to illustrate the impact of reflections from satellite constellations, please note that the density of these satellites is significantly higher in the days following the launch," the organization said. .
A spokesperson for SpaceX added via email that "the observability of Starlink satellites is drastically reduced as they move away from the orbit and orient with the phased array antennas to the Earth and their solar panels behind the body of the satellite ".
However, if SpaceX deployed all authorized Starlink satellites, it would more than double the number of satellites currently orbiting the Earth, with some being allowed to orbit even lower orbits than originally designed.
IAU, which represents more than 13,000 astronomers, has called on satellite constellation operators and astronomers to collaborate more closely and urged "the appropriate agencies to develop a regulatory framework to mitigate or mitigate". Eliminate the negative impacts on scientific exploration as soon as possible ".
For its part, SpaceX has already coordinated with the US National Science Foundation, which oversees the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
"After working closely with SpaceX, NSF finalized a coordination agreement to ensure that the company's Starlink satellite network plans will meet international standards for the protection of radio astronomy, limiting interference in this radio astronomy band, "the NSF said in a statement.
Elon Musk also hinted at a possible long-term solution on Twitter: "We have to move telescopes (sic) in orbit anyway."
There are already 4900 satellites in orbit, which people notice about 0% of the time. Starlink will only be seen by anyone unless you are very attentive and will have an impact of about 0% on the progress of astronomy. In any case, we have to move the telescopes into orbit. The atmospheric attenuation is terrible. pic.twitter.com/OuWYfNmw0D
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2019
Originally released at 15:05. PT.
Updated 17:46 PT: Adds quotes from SpaceX and NSF.
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