- A horde of SpaceX Starlink satellites obscured the view of the comet nicknamed NEOWISE, ruining an impressive photo of the comet.
- SpaceX has already launched hundreds of satellites, but plans to have tens of thousands of them in orbit in no time.
- Satellites reflect light back to Earth, making it difficult for astronomers using telescopes or high-power cameras to capture clean images of space.
Astronomers don’t need much to be able to look into space. A decent telescope can be hard to come by, sure, but other than that, all you really need is a clear sky. Unfortunately, SpaceX’s Starlink program is making it difficult for scientists to make observations even on the clearest nights.
Recently, an astrophotographer named Daniel López tried to capture what would have been a fantastic photo of the nicknamed comet NEOWISE that has recently been lighting up the night sky. The image itself is excellent, except for one thing: SpaceX’s horde of Starlink satellites appeared at the worst possible time.
The photo was a collection of 17 separate long exposure shots at 30 seconds each. When they come together, we get a magnificent view of the comet that recently made a journey around the Sun and headed back to Earth with a blindingly bright tail. Unfortunately, we also see reflections from countless SpaceX Starlink satellites that were surfing at the worst possible time.
This is something we’ve seen before, and astronomers have not been shy about their dislike for satellites and their habit of blocking telescope views on Earth. SpaceX has said it is trying to find solutions, including painting the satellites with a matte black coating to reduce reflection, and even installing shaded “visors” that are supposed to block solar reflection so it doesn’t interfere with observations from the ground.
As you can see, the image is pretty messed up as a result of the satellites crossing above. Due to the long exposure of the shots, the satellites produce long trails that darken the comet and detract from the photo as a whole.
It’s important to remember that these kinds of things are happening despite SpaceX having a relatively small number of Starlink satellites in orbit. With only hundreds of satellites currently in operation, SpaceX plans to increase those numbers in a big way. Finally, the company wants tens of thousands of Starlink satellites that orbit a grid around the planet.
The network will provide communication capabilities to almost every corner of the world. It’s an incredibly ambitious plan, but if the company can’t figure out how to mitigate the problems its satellites are already causing, things will only get worse as more and more devices are deployed in Earth orbit.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in virtual reality, handheld devices, smartphones, and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as technical editor at The Daily Dot, and has appeared on USA Today, Time.com, and countless other websites and in print. His love of reporting is second only to his addiction to games.
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