This makes them crucial in spotting supernovae or potentially dangerous asteroids. These telescopes scan wide areas quickly. Some telescopes, such as the Rubin Observatory under construction in Chile, will experience greater impacts. They found that telescopes such as the Very Large Telescope ( VLT) and the future Extremely Large Telescope ( ELT) will be “moderately affected” by new satellite mega constellations. Studies in 20 showed the impact on optical and near-infrared telescopes. Up to 30-50 percent of twilight observations being seriously impacted.Īnd because we’re talking about scientists, of course they’ve officially started studying the issue. The study also found that the greatest impact of new satellite constellations will be on wide-field surveys made by telescopes such as the US National Science Foundation’s Vera C. The effect is more pronounced for long exposures, up to three percent of which may be ruined during twilight. ESO, the European Space Organization, reported these findings from a 2021 study: Some of the biggest are on wide-field surveys, longer exposures and evening and morning twilight observations when sunlight reflects off the satellites. Optical and near-infrared telescopes feel the impacts from these mega constellations. How satellites harm astronomy: The problem with increasing satellitesĪstronomers face a variety of problems with the increasing numbers of satellites filling low-Earth orbit. The advantages to society that the communication constellations are offering cannot be disputed, but their impact on the pristine appearance of the night sky and on astronomy must be considered with great attention because they affect both the cultural heritage of humanity and the progress of science. A report from the 2021 conference for Dark and Quiet Skies stated: And there is only so much astronomers can do on their own to mitigate the problem. Astronomers are not against the communication networks that the satellites provide, but they have valid concerns for the future of ground-based explorations of the universe. You may have heard the growing complaints from astronomers as companies such as SpaceX add more satellites to our sky. Learn more about how mega constellations of satellites harm astronomy.
Different sub-constellations are in different colors. Artist’s concept shows the 30,000 planned satellites from the Starlink Generation 2 constellation as of 2022.
0 kommentar(er)
