BlueWalker 3 is one of the brightest objects in the night sky

Astronomers are not happy with the increasing number of satellites orbiting our planet. More than three years ago, hundreds of these specialists stated after a meeting that the devices of the Starlink constellation That would reduce detections. This led Elon Musk’s company to reduce the reflectivity of its satellites to try to allay complaints from the scientific community.

But the fears went much further than that. Just over a year ago, a company called AST SpaceMobile launched Bluewalker 3 into orbit, a massive 1,500-kilogram, 64-meter-long satellite that would lay the foundation for a new communications platform. Astronomers then expected that it could become an object that could be easily seen because of its brightness.

A “prediction” that was fulfilled

With Bluewalker 3 operating in orbit, researchers have gathered enough information to calculate its impact on it Astronomical observations. the study, Published in Nature magazine, leads to a depressing conclusion: the satellite is one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Specifically, it is almost as bright as the eighth star most visible from Earth.

The document goes further. Bluewalker 3 is second only to the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and seven other stars in terms of brightness in the night sky. This makes the device a new obstacle to astronomical observation. But it doesn’t end there. AST SpaceMobile wants nearly a hundred of these devices in orbit, some of which could be twice the size of the current device.

Jeremy Tregloan-Reid, one of the study’s authors, warns that if the presence of satellites becomes a problem, it will change completely. Night sky. The consequences indicated by the specialist are wide-ranging. Satellite trails (as we see in the image above) can destroy telescope observations and make observing nebulae more difficult.

It should be noted that, at least at the moment, there are 18 satellite constellations being developed. Among the most popular ones are those of Starlink, Amazon Kuiper, and OneWeb. Moreover, experts such as astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Jonathan McDowell, estimate that during this decade we could have as many as 100,000 satellites in orbit.

Meredith Rawls, a member of the International Astronomical Union’s Center for Dark Sky Protection, suggested to Space.com that the problem must be Processed comprehensively. On the one hand, satellite manufacturers are trying to mitigate reflection, and on the other hand, astronomers are looking for ways to improve their observing methods to deal with the noise of their observations.

the pictures: Astspace Mobile

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