3 ms·

The satellite orbits decay, they don't stay up indefinitely

defrost 4y ago
There are 10s of thousands planned and other companies eager to put up their own constellations. Those that fall are planned to fall and to be replaced .. the issue is that are now thousands (and will be more) sats in LEO orbits polluting the night sky with both visible light and transmission spectra energy. Doesn't matter much to those that live in cities and can't see the stars in any case .. but it's a blight to those that formally had clear skys, and to both visible and radio spectrum astronomers.
- WithinReason 4y ago
  They are not visible to people when the satellites are in the shadow of the Earth (at night)
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > are not visible to people when the satellites are in the shadow of the Earth (at night) Night is altitude dependent. Satellites can be in sunlight while the ground below is pitch black. (That said, I find the complaints about visual pollution silly.)
    - defrost 4y ago
      Out of interest, where do you live on the light polltion map [1], Bortle scale [2]? Do you have any sense of what you're missing out on or how bright and distracting tens of thousands of LEO sats glinting in the sun are, or to what degree they mess up long exposure visible astronomy shots, or the noise they make for radio astronomy? I have no issue believing that you find "complaints about visual pollution silly" .. I'm guessing that would be because it has zero impact on you. [1] https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/ https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bortle_scale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bortle_scale
      - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
        > where do you live on the light polltion map Class 2. I can just appreciate the night sky with satellites in it. (They’re fun to watch.) > to what degree they mess up long exposure visible astronomy shots, or the noise they make for radio astronomy One is a luxury pass-time. For the other, there are workarounds.
        defrost 4y ago
        The Desert Fireball network is visible astronomy used to find rocks on the ground within 24 hours of impact - thus delivering insights into the early formation of the solar system and occasionally insights into extra solar material. I think of it more as science than as a luxury pass time but you're welcome to your opinion. Streaking trains of LEO sats are a damn nuisance.
        tdehnel 4y ago
        Science? What theory are you testing?
        defrost 4y ago
        You know that gathering evidence and observational bit? That part. As you asked, you might enjoy: https://www.amazon.com.au/What-This-Thing-Called-Science/dp/162466038X https://www.amazon.com.au/What-This-Thing-Called-Science/dp/... and then move onto Lakatos, Popper, Kuhn, Feyerabend, Musgrave, et al. But for now, baby steps.
        tdehnel 4y ago
        You’re being needlessly condescending. But I think you’ll find it’s a harmless question: What are you gathering evidence for exactly? What is the purpose of your observations?
        JumpCrisscross 4y ago
        > think of it more as science than as a luxury pass time but you're welcome to your opinion There may be a niche for an open-source error-correcting model. These birds’ orbits are known and can be filtered from public databases. If you’re tracking meteors, you’re collecting enough data to project those orbits onto your field of vision and thus remove them as false positives. For the luxury of taking beautiful photos, I unfortunately have nothing. (Though again, I find their paths pretty.) For the other, there are workarounds.

There are 10s of thousands planned and other companies eager to put up their own constellations. Those that fall are planned to fall and to be replaced .. the issue is that are now thousands (and will be more) sats in LEO orbits polluting the night sky with both visible light and transmission spectra energy. Doesn't matter much to those that live in cities and can't see the stars in any case .. but it's a blight to those that formally had clear skys, and to both visible and radio spectrum astronomers.

WithinReason 4y ago
They are not visible to people when the satellites are in the shadow of the Earth (at night)
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > are not visible to people when the satellites are in the shadow of the Earth (at night) Night is altitude dependent. Satellites can be in sunlight while the ground below is pitch black. (That said, I find the complaints about visual pollution silly.)
  - defrost 4y ago
    Out of interest, where do you live on the light polltion map [1], Bortle scale [2]? Do you have any sense of what you're missing out on or how bright and distracting tens of thousands of LEO sats glinting in the sun are, or to what degree they mess up long exposure visible astronomy shots, or the noise they make for radio astronomy? I have no issue believing that you find "complaints about visual pollution silly" .. I'm guessing that would be because it has zero impact on you. [1] https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/ https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bortle_scale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bortle_scale
    - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
      > where do you live on the light polltion map Class 2. I can just appreciate the night sky with satellites in it. (They’re fun to watch.) > to what degree they mess up long exposure visible astronomy shots, or the noise they make for radio astronomy One is a luxury pass-time. For the other, there are workarounds.
      - defrost 4y ago
        The Desert Fireball network is visible astronomy used to find rocks on the ground within 24 hours of impact - thus delivering insights into the early formation of the solar system and occasionally insights into extra solar material. I think of it more as science than as a luxury pass time but you're welcome to your opinion. Streaking trains of LEO sats are a damn nuisance.
        tdehnel 4y ago
        Science? What theory are you testing?
        defrost 4y ago
        You know that gathering evidence and observational bit? That part. As you asked, you might enjoy: https://www.amazon.com.au/What-This-Thing-Called-Science/dp/162466038X https://www.amazon.com.au/What-This-Thing-Called-Science/dp/... and then move onto Lakatos, Popper, Kuhn, Feyerabend, Musgrave, et al. But for now, baby steps.
        tdehnel 4y ago
        You’re being needlessly condescending. But I think you’ll find it’s a harmless question: What are you gathering evidence for exactly? What is the purpose of your observations?
        JumpCrisscross 4y ago
        > think of it more as science than as a luxury pass time but you're welcome to your opinion There may be a niche for an open-source error-correcting model. These birds’ orbits are known and can be filtered from public databases. If you’re tracking meteors, you’re collecting enough data to project those orbits onto your field of vision and thus remove them as false positives. For the luxury of taking beautiful photos, I unfortunately have nothing. (Though again, I find their paths pretty.) For the other, there are workarounds.