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If scanning for near Earth asteroids was really a priority, there's nothing stopping us from building a detection network in space, above the altitude at which
by devoutsalsa 5y ago
If scanning for near Earth asteroids was really a priority, there's nothing stopping us from building a detection network in space, above the altitude at which Starlink satellites fly.
- rTX5CMRXIfFG 5y agoIsn't it more the case that it is a priority precisely because we have our current methods for detecting near-earth asteroids, but we're letting capitalism get in the way and launch Starlink satellites in space to trade off the safety of our species for more profit that, honestly, isn't even necessary? I mean, of course you can argue that the survival of our species isn't necessary and is not more important than money, but if you believe that, you should state that plainly because that seems to be where we'll have an impasse.
- devoutsalsa 5y agoIn my opinion... If we REALLY wanted to detect near Earth asteroids, we'd focus on space based telescopes. They are better in nearly every way, except for the raw size of the mirror. But we use ground based telescopes because they are cheaper. Capitalism has already prioritized lower science budgets for finding big rocky planet killers.
- edgyquant 5y agoI don’t think detecting near earth asteroids has become impossible. Developing space infrastructure is just as important to our survival as detection.
- gord288 5y agoOkay so until such time as this higher-orbit asteroid detection network is in place, let's have a moratorium on these Starlink things.