SATELLITES AND SPACE DEBRIS ARE POLLUTING OUR NIGHT SKIES

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smp United States of America
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SATELLITES AND SPACE DEBRIS ARE POLLUTING OUR NIGHT SKIES

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Post by smp »


From Sky & Telescope:
“Anyone who has watched the night sky recently knows it: Satellites are everywhere. They flash across the firmament, paint streaks on photos, and irritate stargazers. In just three years since the advent of so-called megaconstellations, such as SpaceX’s Starlink, light pollution by objects in Earth’s orbit has moved from non-topic to possibly the most serious threat to ground-based astronomy. And, as John Barentine (Dark Sky Consulting) and his colleagues discuss in a paper published in Nature Astronomy, it could get worse — much worse.”

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Re: SATELLITES AND SPACE DEBRIS ARE POLLUTING OUR NIGHT SKIES

#2

Post by Thefatkitty »


So true. I remember being out with my Dad in the 1970-73 timeframe with his 60mm scope; we'd both get all excited if we saw a bright dot moving across the sky. If memory serves, I think we saw a total of 8 in that period.

Now? All I have to do is go outside on a clear night, look up and around a bit; and within a minute I see at least one satellite or one chain of them. Sad that :(

Regardless, thanks for the article Stephen :D
Mark

"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4 & AZ-EQ5 mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.

H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D.

Oh yeah, and Solar Cycle 25 :D
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