Satellite Mega-Constellations are Beginning to Steal the Show from Real Stars

“In the same way that our lands were colonized, our skies are now being colonized,” said Karlie Noon, a PhD candidate in astronomy and an Indigenous research associate at the Australian National University in Canberra. “And this isn’t just Indigenous people.”

According to Noon, companies have sent their satellites to space without any consultation with the scientific community.

Today, the Earth’s orbit is occupied by satellite mega-constellations, to which more than 60,000 man-made satellites are still to be added, as planned by SpaceX, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, OneWeb, and other companies.

How the Swarms of Satellites Are Starting to Turn the World of Astronomy Upside-Down

As early as the first launch of Starlink satellites for internet service purposes in 2019, astronomers have been expressing their concerns about the effects of such mega-constellations to radio frequencies used for astronomical observation, operations of sophisticated telescopes, which study dark energy, dark matter, and celestial bodies in the universe through the night sky, and congestion in the orbit that could increase the risk of collision and add more problems to space debris.

In spite of hope that these concerns could be threshed out through solutions like companies’ shifting of their satellites’ frequencies to avoid interference to radio astronomy and darkening the color of their satellites to make them dimmer as they trail across the night sky, mega-constellations could not avoid their negative impacts to the work of astronomers and the educational pursuits of skywatchers.

Satellite streaks are now a common problem in images produced by telescopes, in spite of state-of-the-art technologies. Effects of the light pollution that these satellite mega-constellations produce range from 18% up to 25%. The problem could worsen as tens of thousands of these types of satellites get launched into Earth’s orbit.

Further, based on a recent study, future swarms of satellites would be most noticeable during summer evenings “at latitudes of around 50 degrees south and 50 degrees north where many European and Canadian astronomical facilities are based.” This means that these satellites will appear like brilliant dots in the heavens during the summer solstice throughout the night.

For those who may be fond of gazing into the sky during the hours of sunrise and sunset, chances are, one in every 14 stars they will see is actually a satellite, according to the study.

“It’s really quite horrifying,” said Samantha Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina in Canada, lead author of the research.

Light Pollution, Orbital Congestion, and Proliferation of Space Junk: Is Humanity Really Advancing?

After a series of workshops, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has established a Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference. The center will soon launch a website that will function as a hub for astronomers, satellite operators, policy-makers, and the public for coordination in order to mitigate the impacts of satellite mega-constellations.

But there is so much more that may be needed since the impacts of these megac-onstellations are more far-reaching than first anticipated.

Now, even certain wildlife that rely on celestial navigation are suffering from disorientation due to the artificial glow that these satellites produce in the sky.

Indigenous people are also affected, because they also obtain knowledge from the dark heavens in marking significant events and seasons.

At first, SpaceX had been using sun-blocking shades on its Starlinks to make them less visible in the night sky. But the company stopped doing it since the shades were interfering with satellite laser communications. Instead, they are adding stickers or other materials that can help their satellites reflect light away from the planet, according to SpaceX engineer David Goldstein, who related it to the UK-based Federation of Astronomical Societies during a webinar.

Meanwhile, OneWeb has launched another batch of its satellites but at higher altitudes compared to Starlink’s so they will be fainter. Half of the company’s first batch of satellites has exceeded the safe limit of brightness as specified by astronomers, according to a 2021 study. And so, aside from the higher altitudes of their satellites, the company is also using a telescope based in Sicily to study their brightness and use the data in designing future satellite projects.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper intends to launch its own prototype satellites, one of them equipped with a sunshade, so they can determine if it could help in dimming the satellite’s brilliance.

At present, there are no regulations about satellite brightness but it is a critical matter that the IAU and other organizations are urging the United Nations to address.