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You wouldn't imagine how I felt the first time I saw the satellites. It was like a year ago. I take my dog for walks on a path between orange tree fields, so a
by Darmody 6y ago
You wouldn't imagine how I felt the first time I saw the satellites.
It was like a year ago. I take my dog for walks on a path between orange tree fields, so at night is pretty dark. I look at the sky and I see this thing moving and I think, maybe it's a plane but it doesn't have any blinking light. It's not a planet/star because it's moving. Is it an alien? Nevermin, it's probably a plane.
I keep walking and I look up again. Now I see like 3 or 4 of them. One after another with the same space between them. And as they move, another one appears. And then another one, and another one.
I saw a total of two dozens or so. As soon I got some I told it to a friend who didn't know what it was either. I googled it and the next day I found a video in a news website where they asked about some "dots" that were seen above Barcelona which is not very far away from where I am. Someone commented that it was the Starlink satellites. I checked it out and yes, that was it and everything made sense but holy crap, at the beginning it was intense.
- samvher 6y agoThis part really bothers me. The connectivity benefits are clear but there is not going to be any place on earth (well, maybe the poles?) anymore where you can see a night sky with no noticeable satellites or airplanes. I really think that’s a significant loss and this decision is not made in a democratic way. Frustratingly, I do see myself paying for the service at some point as, like many people in this thread, I have a desire to work remotely in a rural location. (By that time it’s not like this can be undone...)
- Obi_Juan_Kenobi 6y agoThey are only visible while transitioning to their operating orbit. They will have an effect on astronomy, but not visual observation.
- Rebelgecko 6y agoKeep in mind that due to the size of the constellation and estimated lifetime of the individual satellites, there will eventually always be dozens of satellites that are transitioning to their operating orbit.
- samvher 6y agoI was actually not aware of that, that makes a big difference. Is that also true for (very) dark skies? Edit: this article does not make it sound like the problem is solved, is it wrong? https://earthsky.org/human-world/will-spacex-starlink-satellites-ruin-stargazing https://earthsky.org/human-world/will-spacex-starlink-satell...
- Ajedi32 6y agoI got a chance to see one of the satellite trains shortly after launch, when they had barely had a chance to spread out. It looked like a continuous line of light slowly moving across a section of the sky; really an amazing sight. Unfortunately I live in an area with a decent amount of light pollution, and haven't been able to catch a glimpse of any of the more recent trains. (Might have something to do with the dark coating they're putting on the newer satellites to reduce reflectivity.) For those who want to give it a try, this site gives a list of optimal viewing times, complete with an animation of where and when the satellites will appear in the sky at your location: https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/?special=starlink https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/?special=starlink