A simulation of the full network of Starlink satellites when their first 12,000 satellites are up. This network will provide near-total global coverage, continuously, with an additional 30,000 requested. While delivering high-speed internet globally is a noble goal, destroying ground-based astronomy, astrophotography, and even stargazing as a hobby should be reckoned with as extraordinary collateral damage. (SPACEX / STARLINK)

How To Save The Night Sky From Satellite Megaconstellations

GPS holds the key, but astronomers can’t do it without help.

Since 2019, the night sky — as seen by both human eyes and the telescopes we use to enhance our views of the Universe — has begun to fundamentally change as never before. Previously, only three major obstacles interfered with our views of the Universe:

1. light pollution, brought about by the advance of electrical lighting and made worse by the recent advent of inexpensive, low-power, high-brightness LEDs,
2. the atmosphere, including clouds, weather, and air conditions, all of which can interfere with our view of the planets, stars, and deep-sky objects beyond,
3. and satellites, the human-created objects that only began launching with the advent of the space age, most of which were up there for scientific or telecommunications purposes.

However, just two years ago, an enormous number of bright, low-flying satellites began to go up, as first SpaceX and then others began to launch the first megaconstellations of satellites. Occupying low-Earth orbit, these megaconstellation members now make up nearly half of all active satellites, and are expected to rise into the tens or even the hundreds of thousands in number by the end of the decade. However, in mid-July, astronomers and industry representatives met for SATCON2: an attempt to bring concerned professionals together to identify and find solutions for the problems that come along with this new type of infrastructure.

Without significant, rapid, large-scale action, the night sky will likely be forever changed. Here’s what we can do about it.

The bright star Albireo, a prominent and colorful double star system that’s a member of the Summer Triangle, was imaged on December 26, 2019. During 10 exposures lasting 150 seconds each, a train of Starlink satellites passed through that same region of sky. While this streaking effect has significant implications for professional an amateur astronomy alike, it is not the only, or even the most worrisome, impact. (RAFAEL SCHMALL)

Not just about streaks. When it comes to the question of, “how do low-Earth orbiting satellites affect astronomy?” there’s an obvious set of answers. For naked eye observers, the satellites, particularly when they’re in direct sunlight and close to the Earth, will appear bright and reflective, moving across the sky as they pass overhead. For amateur astronomers and astrophotographers, they’ll appear through your telescope’s…