Every location on Earth will have hundreds of satellites visible in the night sky, if the launch and operation of mega constellations continues as planned.
Mega constellations are vast groups of satellites designed to orbit Earth and beam internet to the ground. Notable examples include SpaceX鈥檚 Starlink and the UK鈥檚 OneWeb constellations. Already more than 2000 such satellites have been launched, with upwards of 65,000 expected in the coming years, including other initiatives from the US and China. Many of the satellites are predicted to be visible as they reflect sunlight to the ground.
at the University of Regina in Canada and her colleagues modelled what the impact of these satellites on the night sky would be from different locations around the world. The results were stark. 鈥淔rom everywhere on Earth, there are hundreds visible within a couple of hours of dawn and dusk at any time of year,鈥� says Lawler.
Advertisement
The most affected areas were at 50 degrees latitude north and south, which includes Canada and northern Europe, including the UK. Here, the angle of incoming sunlight meant that nearly 300 satellites would remain visible through the night in summertime.
Although this will have no material impact on the lives of many people, some will be upset by the change. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want that to be the sky my kids grow up knowing,鈥� says Lawler.
Efforts have been made by SpaceX to reduce the reflectivity of its satellites below naked eye visibility. However, about 80 per cent of the total number of these satellites still remain visible. As yet, there are no regulations requiring countries or companies to dim their satellites at all.
Even if satellites are dim enough to be invisible to the naked eye, they will still cause problems for astronomers.
The end result could be a night sky unlike anything previously witnessed by humanity. 鈥淥ne in 15 points in the sky won鈥檛 be stars, they鈥檒l be moving satellites,鈥� says Lawler. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really awful to think about鈥� but that鈥檚 where we鈥檙e headed.鈥�
Reference:
Sign up to Lost in Space-Time, a free monthly newsletter on the weirdness of reality
