Growing Number of Satellites Will Leave Streaks on Photos from Space Telescopes
The growing number of satellites above us could soon obscure photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and other orbiting observatories. New research reveals that passing satellites could leave traces on up to 96% of images.
Already, satellites leave traces on photos taken using telescopes on Earth. Today, as SpaceX and other companies seek to build massive networks of communications satellites, the skies are going to get a lot more crowded. Ten years ago, there were around 1,200 active satellites orbiting Earth. Today, there are around 12,000. The launch of another 560,000 devices is currently planned, according to the researchers.
To understand what the increase in satellites will mean for space observatories, NASA researchers simulated the view from four telescopes in low Earth orbit: NASA’s Hubble and SPHEREx observatories, which are now in operation; China’s Xuntian Space Telescope, which will be launched next year; and the European ARRAKIHS mission, scheduled to launch in 2030.
With more than half a million satellites overhead, the researchers found, light trails would alter between 40 and 96 percent of the photos. They note that a single photo can be marked by up to 92 streaks. The results were published in Nature.
Although it is unlikely that all planned launches will take place, scientists warn that the growing number of satellites will produce poorer quality images, fewer discoveries and could obscure the view of asteroids heading toward Earth. “If your images look like they’re full of asteroids, it’s very possible that you’re missing a real one,” said lead author Alejandro Borlaff, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Nature.
The growing number of satellites also poses other risks. As Yale Environment 360 Recently reported, scientists are increasingly concerned about emissions from rocket launches and payloads that burn up when they fall back to Earth. “Both of these processes produce pollutants that are injected into almost all layers of the atmosphere,” said Eloise Marais, an atmospheric scientist at University College London. e360.
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