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The document has an executive summary and clear images denoting the impact of these satellites on humanity's view of the stars. It does a great job of highligh

by ISL 6y ago

The document has an executive summary and clear images denoting the impact of these satellites on humanity's view of the stars. It does a great job of highlighting the collision between high-sensitivity wide-field imaging of both deep fields and transients with the nascent satellite constellations. Direct link to the PDF: https://noirlab.edu/public/media/archives/techdocs/pdf/techdoc003.pdf https://noirlab.edu/public/media/archives/techdocs/pdf/techd... Astronomers have been working for decades toward the Vera Rudin Observatory (nee LSST). It has been the big thing on the horizon for my entire career as a professional scientist. It sees first light in 2021. Images like that seen on page 7 of the PDF will be what they see. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_C._Rubin_Observatory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_C._Rubin_Observatory

nsilvestri 6y ago
LSST/Vera is probably the project most impacted by these satellites. Per my contacts, smaller scopes like LBT/Keck/MMT aren't as drastically affected yet. But if we start approaching 100k+ satellites, even they will be having some major issues to deal with.
- ISL 6y ago
  The real tragedy, from a scientific standpoint in the optical, is that we're entering a new world of wide-field and sensitive time-domain astronomy due to huge improvements in computing power and sensors at the same time that humanity is about to generate thousands of bright transients. The only practical approach I can think of for combating the constellations is distributed arrays of wide-field transient-hunters. As long as the transient is common-mode across telescopes, then it is real. If there are three LSSTs, and not too many constellation-satellites, that might work. I just noted, in passing, that the term for the satellite arrays appears to be "constellation"; that is a bummer in this context.
- spenczar5 6y ago
  This is an area of very active work by the Rubin/LSST team. Some documents that might be of interest, pretty hot off the press: - "Mitigation of LEO Satellite Brightness and Trail Effects on the Rubin Observatory LSST" https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.12417 https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.12417 - "Mitigation of Satellite Tracks in LSST Data Processing" - https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/MitigationWG_Present5_bySaunders.pdf https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/MitigationWG_Pre... There are some good techniques available, and the very smartest experts on image processing are working on this task, so I think we'll manage.
- nsilvestri 6y ago
  correction to above (can't edit anymore): I meant smaller scopes, as in "smaller field of view" or immediate area of concern, not smaller in aperture

by ISL 6y ago

nsilvestri 6y ago

LSST/Vera is probably the project most impacted by these satellites. Per my contacts, smaller scopes like LBT/Keck/MMT aren't as drastically affected yet. But if we start approaching 100k+ satellites, even they will be having some major issues to deal with.

ISL 6y ago
The real tragedy, from a scientific standpoint in the optical, is that we're entering a new world of wide-field and sensitive time-domain astronomy due to huge improvements in computing power and sensors at the same time that humanity is about to generate thousands of bright transients. The only practical approach I can think of for combating the constellations is distributed arrays of wide-field transient-hunters. As long as the transient is common-mode across telescopes, then it is real. If there are three LSSTs, and not too many constellation-satellites, that might work. I just noted, in passing, that the term for the satellite arrays appears to be "constellation"; that is a bummer in this context.
spenczar5 6y ago
This is an area of very active work by the Rubin/LSST team. Some documents that might be of interest, pretty hot off the press: - "Mitigation of LEO Satellite Brightness and Trail Effects on the Rubin Observatory LSST" https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.12417 https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.12417 - "Mitigation of Satellite Tracks in LSST Data Processing" - https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/MitigationWG_Present5_bySaunders.pdf https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/MitigationWG_Pre... There are some good techniques available, and the very smartest experts on image processing are working on this task, so I think we'll manage.
nsilvestri 6y ago
correction to above (can't edit anymore): I meant smaller scopes, as in "smaller field of view" or immediate area of concern, not smaller in aperture