SpaceX, the largest commercial satellite constellation operator in the world, has ambitious plans of installing 12,000 satellites in low-orbit over a span of several years, as part of its Starlink project to provide low-cost broadband internet service.
A well-known astronomer and satellite tracker has voiced concerns that efforts to scan the skies for potentially dangerous near-Earth asteroids might be in jeopardy due to ambitious plans by SpaceX to deploy over 12,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit over the next several years.
The study “The Low Earth Orbit Satellite Population and Impacts of the SpaceX Starlink” by Jonathan McDowell from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics analyses the impact that the broadband service mega-constellation could have on different observatories.
The research, still awaiting peer review and accepted for pre-print publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters, states:
“Astronomers – and casual viewers of the night sky – must expect a future in which the low Earth orbit population includes tens of thousands of relatively large satellites.”
The researcher has modelled how many satellites in a constellation of 12,000 that the FCC has already approved for SpaceX would be lit up by the Sun and above the horizon from three different latitudes on Earth.
“We see that several hundred satellites are above the horizon at all times of night; during winter twilight, and all summer night long, most of them are illuminated,” writes McDowell.
Since Elon Musk’s SpaceX began launching batches of satellites in 2019, astronomers have been voicing concerns that the expanding number of huge satellite constellations, driven by Starlink’s target plan of installing up to 42,000 satellites in low orbit could wreak havoc on scientific observations of space.
Both skywatchers and astronomers were shocked by the bright lights of the satellites that were obstructing the view for major telescopes and potentially corrupting between 30 to 40 percent of astronomical images.
Satellites from companies other than SpaceX, such as OneWeb pose a similar problem, as many observatories with particularly wide fields of view, like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory currently under construction in Chile, are likely to be impacted.
According to a recent study from the European Southern Observatory (ESO), satellite mega-constellations are projected as “severely” affecting between 30 and 50 percent of observations taken by the Rubin Observatory.
“However, there appear to be other science projects which may be more severely affected… For example, searches for near-Earth asteroids include observations taken in twilight, a time when the satellites are illuminated year-round,” writes McDowell.
The astronomer has recently been expounding the importance of continued, unhampered observation of asteroids that may pose a danger to the Earth due to the close proximity in which they move.
When it comes to detection of near-Earth objects travelling close to the Sun, researchers typically search for them after sunset, when Starlink’s satellites illuminate the sky.
While urging additional regulation, which he claimed might help solve the issue, he stressed measures being proposed at the moment are not effective.
There has been no official comment from SpaceX.
Previously, to allay concerns, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated the company would work with astronomers to develop solutions to mitigate any impact on scientific observation. In response to the criticism, Elon Musk tweeted in May 2019 that the amount of light the satellites have been sending down toward Earth would be studied and measures to mitigate the effects would be taken by modifying them to be less reflective.
“Agreed, sent a note to Starlink team last week specifically regarding albedo reduction. We’ll get a better sense of value of this when satellites have raised orbits and arrays are tracking to Sun.”
Meanwhile, the company continues to launch new batches of satellites, as a Falcon 9 rocket is geared up to carry 60 more satellites to space on 18 March.
SpaceX has plans to have over 1,500 satellites in space by the end of the year, with the long-term plan for the mega-constellation aiming at 42,000 satellites that would beam high-speed internet to every corner of the globe.
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The Solar System formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago. Numerous fragments that bear witness to this early era orbit the Sun as asteroids. Around three-quarters of these are carbon-rich C-type asteroids, such as 162173 Ryugu, which was the target of the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission in 2018 and 2019. The spacecraft is currently on its return flight to Earth. Numerous scientists, including planetary researchers from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), intensive … read more
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
