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Look at the sky especially now during the lockdown. It's beautiful. I couldn't have imagined how distracting planes were until now that I have seen the sky with

Look at the sky especially now during the lockdown. It's beautiful. I couldn't have imagined how distracting planes were until now that I have seen the sky without them.

sdoering 7y ago
I am living near an airport, but far away that planes did not seem too disturbing. Now that >80% are gone I see how loud they still were.
Loughla 7y ago
Two nights ago a series of 40-50 satellites flew over. It was genuinely disturbing to see. I live where the night sky is dark, and full of stars. It was already pretty out here, but the lockdown, with less air travel, has really helped the sky. And then this line of SUPER bright satellites came over. I think they were part of the Spacex system of satellites. I'm hoping there aren't more coming. They were brighter than the moon, really, just smaller.
- laken 7y ago
  You won't see that often; the reason you saw that many at once was due to a satellite deployment a little under a week ago. For the first few days they orbit very close together before separating into their own orbits. My understanding is that SpaceX is working with astronomers to minimize the impact to the night sky, but there are hiccups like just after a launch.
- FeepingCreature 7y ago
  Here's my perspective on it. "It's the year 2100, and" ... 1. Lots of lights are moving all over the night sky. 2. There are only stars visible in the night sky. Considering the implications, which of those two futures sounds preferable?
- Cogito 7y ago
  FYI there is a known issue with the brightness of recent SpaceX satellites, that is being worked on. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1252986968058802177 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1252986968058802177 The important bits: Everyday Astronaut @Erdayastronaut Apr 23 Is there a reason they’ve been brighter and more noticeable lately? I feel like tons of people are spotting them all of a sudden and they went fairly unnoticed before. Elon Musk @elonmusk Replying to @Erdayastronaut Solar panel angle during orbit raise / park. We’re fixing it now.
  - schoen 7y ago
    Definitely a "living in the future" moment: you can just ask the satellite owner and get a personal response immediately. (Also, the satellite owner then rolls out bug fixes to the satellite constellation.)
- _Microft 7y ago
  I saw the first batch of Starlink satellites a few days after the launch when they were still close together. First to last satellite were no more than maybe 30° apart from my point of view. Seeing these bright spots moving silently [0] and in unison was absolutely captivating. SpaceX seems to be working with astronomers to minimize impact of their satellites on the night sky. While satellites visible to the naked eye are annoying, they are a real problem for astronomical observations where they can saturate the sensors and cause all sorts of artifacts. [0] Well, that's saying more about my environment than the satellites themselves.

Look at the sky especially now during the lockdown. It's beautiful. I couldn't have imagined how distracting planes were until now that I have seen the sky without them.

sdoering 7y ago

I am living near an airport, but far away that planes did not seem too disturbing. Now that >80% are gone I see how loud they still were.

Loughla 7y ago

Two nights ago a series of 40-50 satellites flew over. It was genuinely disturbing to see. I live where the night sky is dark, and full of stars. It was already pretty out here, but the lockdown, with less air travel, has really helped the sky. And then this line of SUPER bright satellites came over. I think they were part of the Spacex system of satellites. I'm hoping there aren't more coming. They were brighter than the moon, really, just smaller.

laken 7y ago
You won't see that often; the reason you saw that many at once was due to a satellite deployment a little under a week ago. For the first few days they orbit very close together before separating into their own orbits. My understanding is that SpaceX is working with astronomers to minimize the impact to the night sky, but there are hiccups like just after a launch.
FeepingCreature 7y ago
Here's my perspective on it. "It's the year 2100, and" ... 1. Lots of lights are moving all over the night sky. 2. There are only stars visible in the night sky. Considering the implications, which of those two futures sounds preferable?
Cogito 7y ago
FYI there is a known issue with the brightness of recent SpaceX satellites, that is being worked on. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1252986968058802177 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1252986968058802177 The important bits: Everyday Astronaut @Erdayastronaut Apr 23 Is there a reason they’ve been brighter and more noticeable lately? I feel like tons of people are spotting them all of a sudden and they went fairly unnoticed before. Elon Musk @elonmusk Replying to @Erdayastronaut Solar panel angle during orbit raise / park. We’re fixing it now.
- schoen 7y ago
  Definitely a "living in the future" moment: you can just ask the satellite owner and get a personal response immediately. (Also, the satellite owner then rolls out bug fixes to the satellite constellation.)
_Microft 7y ago
I saw the first batch of Starlink satellites a few days after the launch when they were still close together. First to last satellite were no more than maybe 30° apart from my point of view. Seeing these bright spots moving silently [0] and in unison was absolutely captivating. SpaceX seems to be working with astronomers to minimize impact of their satellites on the night sky. While satellites visible to the naked eye are annoying, they are a real problem for astronomical observations where they can saturate the sensors and cause all sorts of artifacts. [0] Well, that's saying more about my environment than the satellites themselves.