‘This Is Not Cool!’ - Astronomers Despair As SpaceX Starlink Train Ruins Observation Of Nearby Galaxies

[smp]

From Forbes:
"In the early hours of the morning today, Monday, November 18, two astronomers checked in on their remotely operated telescope in Chile, expecting to see images of distant stars and galaxies. Instead, they saw a train of SpaceX satellites crossing the night sky, a worrying sign of what might be to come for astronomy."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanoc ... 3251a6538b

SIGH...

smp

[Bigzmey]

Well, if it is just a few minutes of visibility at dusk or dawn then it is not too bad.

[UlteriorModem]

Seeing as how there are only a limited number of the satts in orbit as opposed to the thousands planned it will only get worse. Trust me.

[fatboy1271]

I love Elon and what he's doing in general... I hate this!

[Ozypic]

The needs of the many outway the needs of the few .
Or is that , The rich have once again forced their will upon us ?
Its a hard one for sure but looking at the glass half full,
Maybe all those pristine antique satellite free images you all have will become collectors items ?
Or perhaps getting as many starlinks in your images will become the new challenge ?
They might even become a puzzle to solve each night or a coded pattern to solve.
I'm sure there will be a starlink 2.0 that will remove them from images for a small fee.
They might be all shot out of the sky by some rival world dominator .
They could have a flawed component that will make them fall to earth.
Or they might just be waiting for that bit of software that turn them into Skynet ,and we all now where that will go.
Whatever happens I'm confident from what I've seen in my short time on this forum . That there are a lot of clever people here that will get it sorted out .
Inspirational talk complete ..... Phill

[Arsene37]

Hi !

Well, if it is just a few minutes of visibility at dusk or dawn then it is not too bad.

He said :
"Losing five minutes isn’t that bad," says Johnson. "But if we’re going to go into a future where you end up losing 30 to 60 minutes, that would be a significant chunk of our observing time through the night.

"Every minute is valuable."
and no law could forbid it !
Arsène

[helicon]

While I like progress in general, this is opening up a new can of worms for both professional and amateur astronomers. I can see this becoming a real problem.

[Bigzmey]

Hi !

Well, if it is just a few minutes of visibility at dusk or dawn then it is not too bad.

He said :
"Losing five minutes isn’t that bad," says Johnson. "But if we’re going to go into a future where you end up losing 30 to 60 minutes, that would be a significant chunk of our observing time through the night.

"Every minute is valuable."
and no law could forbid it !
Arsène

I am not saying it is good, but media over hypes everything now days. Just trying to approach it with less drama. These are low orbit satellites, so they should be visible only near dusk and dawn, when most armature APs don't shoot anyway. On top of all air traffic and high orbit satellites we already have how much of impact in the middle of the night we are talking here?

[Graeme1858]

While I like progress in general, this is opening up a new can of worms for both professional and amateur astronomers. I can see this becoming a real problem.

Agreed.

Thousands of additional satellites, when they all get their constellations in orbit, must be a potential Kessler syndrome possibility.

Regards

Graeme

[Shabadoo]

Beyond my control.
It is what it is.

[Star Dad]

Even should they be blackened - they will still block photons coming from deep space. And as they get higher in altitude they'll remain visible for longer. This is gonna get real ugly real fast. I already lose a chunk of data to aircraft and satellites... satellites I can't even see in my photos until I process (stack them). Then... how do I find the one image with the "invisible" streak?

[Makuser]

Hi Stephen and all. This scan is from the November 2019 Astronomy magazine (page 16). This is what the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona had to put contend with while imaging NGC 5353/4 last May and you can mouse click up the magnification on the image for better view:

With the continued releases of more satellites, this will only get worse.

[yobbo89]

it makes life hard when you plan to do 6 x 20 min subs ..

[UlteriorModem]

Hi Stephen and all. This scan is from the November 2019 Astronomy magazine (page 16). This is what the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona had to put contend with while imaging NGC 5353/4 last May and you can mouse click up the magnification on the image for better view:
November Astronomy.jpg
With the continued releases of more satellites, this will only get worse.

From the article "There were be more visible satellites than there are naked eye stars!"

[Star Dad]

it makes life hard when you plan to do 6 x 20 min subs ..

And hence the reason I take only 1-3 minute subs (depending on light pollution). If I took 20 minute subs here at home - or even at Cherry Springs State Park in PA, there' would be either a plane or multiple satellites in each image. I would probably have a heart attack if I took multiple 20 minute subs and they had aircraft/satellite streaks in them. If I believed in heaven and hell, I'd surely go to hell with all the cussing I'd be doing.

[SkyHiker]

I read an article yesterday where Ariane was lamenting what SpaceX is doing. I have a feeling that regulation is on it's way pretty quick.

[Lowjiber]

From my perspective, Elon Musk and SpaceX are a long way from being "cool".