Starlink Satellites Produce Wave of UFO Sightings in the US - starlink.png

https://gizmodo.com/starlink-satelli...-th-1840678429

Residents in northern Montana reported a string of strange lights dotting the
sky. What looked like UFOs from an alien invasion has turned out to be another
consequence of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation.

SpaceX launched 60 satellites into orbit back in May and another 60 in November
11 as part of the Starlink satellite constellation, meant to increase satellite
internet access. But the reflective satellites are also producing bright trains
of lights across the sky, stoking UFO fears for those unaware of the satellites
and distracting astronomers.

The most recent sighting of a train of Starlink satellites occurred over the
cities of Browning, Rocky Boy, and Lodgepole in Montana where residents shared
sightings with local news outlets. University of Maryland computer scientist Jen
Golbeck pointed out in a tweet that the train could also have been visible in
Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan this past week. A Starlink constellation launched
in May stoked a similar wave of “UFO” sightings in Europe.

But perhaps more worrisome than a rash of UFO reports, these sightings are
distracting astronomers. Gizmodo reported last month that the satellites
appeared in images taken by astronomers operating the Dark Energy Camera at the
Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile. Approximately 1 in 40 exposures captured the
satellite train. Each train of satellites eventually breaks up as they settle
into each individual satellite settles into a unique orbit.

Astronomer Cliff Johnson at Northwestern told Gizmodo that at present the
satellites are more of an annoyance than a real problem, but may become more
noticeable as the number of satellites constellations increase. The batches
launched this year are just the first of a project that may lead to 12,000 or
more satellites deployed by 2025, and SpaceX announced that they’d launch
another 60 in early 2020. This past summer, the International Astronomical Union
issued a statement urging satellite constellation producers to work with the
astronomy community to understand the potential impacts of these satellites and
work with regulatory agencies to produce rules governing the satellites to
minimize those impacts.

For what it’s worth, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he directed his team to
work on reducing the reflectivity of the satellites. But scientists who spoke
with National Geographic said they’d prefer that these conversations occur
before the satellite launch. Fixes like simply reducing the reflectivity might
not even work for our most sensitive telescopes, according to the New York
Times. And the Starlink constellation of satellites could lead to competitors
further polluting the night sky with satellite constellations of their own,
injecting even more space junk into orbit that we’ll eventually have to deal
with.

All of that is to say, if you see a streak of lights flashing across the sky,
it’s probably not aliens. And it’s frustrating astronomers around the world.



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