Starlink Satellites Worry Astronomers as They Distort Observations

Those who receive internet service from Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites enjoy the high-speed connection. Astronomers around the globe, however, are disturbed due to noisy signals in their observations.

To tackle this problem and make their voice heard, astronomers under the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided to launch an initiative called the IAU Centre for the Protection. The observers exploring the depth of the universe aim to address the problem in question, and they also warned that a dark sky is crucial for wildlife.

Importance of having a dark and radio-quiet sky

“The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is deeply concerned about the increasing number of launched and planned satellite constellations in mainly low Earth orbits,” the IAU said in a statement. “The IAU embraces the principle of a dark and radio-quiet sky, not only as essential to advancing our understanding of the Universe of which we are a part, but also for the cultural heritage of all humanity and for the protection of nocturnal wildlife.”

In addition to astronomers, satellite operators and regulators are also part of that organization “to coordinate efforts and unify voices across the global astronomical community with regard to the protection of the dark and quiet sky from satellite constellation interference,” according to the IAU.

What Elon Musk — who also thinks there won’t be enough people for Mars if the population collapses — plans to do with his Starlink project is to create high-speed and low-latency broadband internet service across the world. SpaceX has now over 4,400 Starlink satellites operating in orbit and it intends to increase the number of the satellites to about 30,000, SpaceNews reported.

Victoria Girgis/Lowell Observatory

Starlink internet satellites worry astronomers

A study reflecting concerns of astronomers regarding Starlink satellites says that astronomy images are ravaged by them. Sending more satellites in orbit could distort observations and images obtained from them.

“Astronomy is facing a tipping-point situation of increasing interference with observations and loss of science,” said astronomer Connie Walker whose statement was published by The Wall Street Journal.

The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and other astronomical institutions welcomed the newly-established International Astronomical Union Centre for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Skies from Satellite Constellation Interference.

“The new constellations are already affecting optical and radio astronomy,” the RAS stated. “By design, the satellites provide coverage to the whole Earth, so unlike light pollution and radio interference on the ground, it is impossible to escape their effects through relocation to remote sites. The most obvious impact is the appearance of many more trails across images made with optical observatories, both on the ground and in space, which require time-consuming and expensive mitigation with software or repeat observations, and in some cases render data useless. Observations of short-lived phenomena often simply cannot be repeated.”

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Astronomers who came together under the formation of the IAU Centre for the Protection wish to leave a dark and clean sky for future generations, and Dr. Robert Massey of the RAS Deputy Executive Director is among them.

“We’re delighted to be contributing to the work of the new IAU centre and its mission to preserve the science of astronomy,” he said. “It’s important to protect our view of the night sky so that future generations continue to be inspired by looking up at the stars.”

Meanwhile, SpaceX has recently unveiled a faster internet service of Starlink, which is called Starlink Premium.