Samantha Lawler, an Astronomer, walked out from her farmhouse in Edenwold, approximately 30 kilometres northeastern of Regina, her feet clenching against the snow below, and the cacophony emanating her barn.
It was before sunrise, so it was early morning. The stars were still visible in the sky.
She looked up at her short walk and saw the slow movement between the stars. Then another. Then another. She stopped counting.
Lawler knew very well what those fake-stars were: satellites.
“I wasn’t even looking up at the sky. She said that she was simply looking at buildings and saw a dozen within a minute of looking upwards. It’s really terrible. It’s quite noticeable.”
It’s about get worse.
Astronomers all over the world are concerned by the proposal of a handful of commercial companies, principallySpaceX, that flood low-Earth orbits with tens or thousands of these satellites. This potential could be far more than what is currently being proposed. There’s also the possibility that satellites could collide with one another, adding to the concern. There are thousands of pieces space junk already in orbit.
Astronomers believe that all of this is a threat against the preservation and enjoyment of the night sky.
Therefore, on February 3, theInternational Astronomical Union (IAU), annouced the creation of the Center for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky against Satellite Constellation Interference. Their goal is to work with scientists, industry leaders, amateur astronomers, Indigenous group members, and scientists around the globe to preserve the night sky’s sanctity.
There has been little to none disagreement so far between industry leaders and astronomers.
“The experience we have had in interfacing with industry is that it’s been exceedingly cooperative in trying to deal with individual objects and how light they scatter,” said Richard L. Green from the University of Arizona, who is part of an executive committee working group on protecting the skies.
However, that could change.
“There is always a caveat to everything, because [industry]Connie Walker, co-director and astronomer with National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory of (NOIRLab), said that they can only do so much.
“They’re there in order to make a profit. I believe we have their ears, especially at the moment. And I believe there is genuine goodwill in trying to accomplish as much as possible. But, there are limits.
Some astronomers suggest that society as a whole should act pre-emptively and treat our skies and low-Earth orbits as part of our natural environment and worth preserving.
Deeper concerns regarding the environment
The night sky has been a driving force throughout human history. The stars were used to navigate, to help us choose when to plant, and to keep track of time. We kept track of the planets and recorded when a new “star” (a supernova eruption) appeared in the sky.
However, most people have only seen the Milky Way in photographs or on television. A 2018 study revealed that the Milky Way is not visible to roughly one-third humanity, which includes 80 percent of North Americans..
Lawler is not the only one concerned by the night sky.
Starlink satellites which provide broadband internet access in rural areas to Starlink satellites have a life expectancy. About five yearsAfter that they will be deorbited and combust in Earth’s atmosphere.
Lawler, who authored a federal assessment on constellations, said, “If you do a calculation, they want to substitute 42,000 satellites every 5 years.” “That would mean they’ll be orbiting 23 times a day. You can see that they are almost car-sized. That’s six tonnes of aluminum, which will be added to the atmosphere every day.
Why is this important?
The injection of To cool the planet, it has been suggested that alumina particles be introduced into the upper atmosphere.However, the implications of this are not fully understood.
Lawler stated, “Low Earth orbit is not legally considered to be an environment.” “So nobody’s looking.”
There’s another way to look at this: how satellites are impacting cultures that have relied on the stars through history.
Lawler said, “You could go so far as to say, well, you can know, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Actiontalkabout how if an private company is going to steal resources from Indigenous peoples, they need to consult and give permission and get compensated.” “Does this count?” Is it possible for a private company to make a profit by degrading a resource they have had access to for thousands years?
Some efforts being made
Satellites are responsible to so many things in our day-today lives, including global positioning systems that help us get aboutto weather satellitesto Earth monitoring satellites.
According to the European Space Agency’s Space Debris Office as of Jan. 5, there were There are roughly 7,840 satellites currently orbiting the earth, and approximately 5,100 satellites remain operational..
However, in the 65-years since Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union, many satellites have now been placed in the hands commercial industry with very little regulation.
SpaceX is the leader in this effort. SpaceX has so far been able toLaunched approximately 2,000 Starlink satellitesWith plans to provide internet access to remote areas of the globe, the project aims to Launch upwards of 42,000.
There are other players as well, such as Jeff Bezos. Amazon/Project Kuiper, Europe’s OneWebCanada’s Own Telesat.
Future satellite simulations from Canada/Europe during the summer solstice|Future satellite simulations from Canada/Europe at the summer solstice.Yellow points are the brightest satellites, blue are the faintest:
You can even find websites like SatelliteMap.Space, where you will be able to track SpaceX satellites and OneWeb satellites in real-time and determine when they will pass overhead. ESRIhas designed a beta websiteThis allows viewers to see the amount and location of satellites and debris in space.
There are also dedicated apps such as Mega ConstellationsHanno Rein, a Canadian astronomer, created the. (The ESA calculated that there are currently more that one million pieces of debris measuring between 1-10 cm and that could pose a danger for satellites and astronauts.
Astronomers and industry leaders were both surprised by the brightness of the Starlinks’ first batch when they were launched in 2019. (SpaceX first launched them to approximately 200 km in altitude, then deployed them to around 500 km.
The company quickly responded to the complaints of astronomers and tried to reduce their reflectivity with paint and then with a type shield. Although this did help, it didn’t solve the problem.
WATCH | Amateur astronomer Alan Dyer captures Starlink satellites from southern Alberta in 2019:
OneWeb was initially looking to launch nearly 48,000 sites.Its proposal was reduced to approximately 6,400 satellites.
Astronomers say it’s all about moving in the right direction.
“I believe we bought some time, because Starlink did not agree to a higher rate.” [orbit]OneWeb and Jonathan McDowell significantly reduced the total number their satellites,” Jonathan McDowell, an Astrophysics Center astronomer at Harvard University, said. He also participated in the IAU’s working groups.
“So that, according to me, will keep the astronomy effect in the next few year to super-annoying, instead of fatal.”
Lawler isn’t always in the same boat.
“There are many engineering issues that I think there are.”[industry]Could rise to thechallenge [of]She said that they are not seeing them and are only seeing what is necessary to make the most money. “And that’s what they’re focusing their attention on. This could lead to us losing the ability to safely use orbit, as well as destroying the sky & the atmosphere.
SpaceX did not respond when asked for an interview. Telesat was unavailable to speak with CBC News at the time of publication.
A strain on science
Astronomy is a majority of which is supported by public funds. However, reducing brightness or altitude isn’t enough.
Astronomers often take long-exposure photos of the entire sky when collecting data. Large telescopes are able to pick up satellites at higher elevations. These images show them as long streaks.
McDowell, who is currently working to develop algorithms to help astronomers deal these satellites in photos, said that it’s not as easy as using software to eliminate streaks.
Starlinks crossover the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in 2020:| Starlinks crossover the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in 2020:
“People will tell you that it’s no big deal. It’s easy to use Photoshop to remove the streak. McDowell agreed. “Well, no. We’re trying to measure stars brightness to, like, one percent. That doesn’t work.
The potential impact on radio astronomy is also important.
Canada has Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO), $290 million investedSouth Africa’s 197 radio astronomy recipes will become the largest radio dish in radio astronomy in the world. It is a radio-quiet area where cell phones are not allowed.
Satellite constellations are threatening the observatory, which will be open at the end the decade. A recent analysis of SKAO suggests that they Could lose a significant amount sensitivity to certain molecules, which could impact their research.
Although the new IAU centre is still very young, it has big ambitions. It has been successful. There are several working groups that deal with the issue., is developing industry standardsandisworking with the United Nations’ Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
McDowell stated that it was about addressing the problem immediately, before it becomes too late.
“As isalwaysthe case with environmental problems it’sthat it doesn’t happen until it gets really bad,” he stated. “And then people think, ‘Oh, we should do something.’