Astronomers have issued an urgent warning about Elon Musk's Starlink satellites, claiming that they could eventually outnumber the stars visible in our night sky.
Last month, Elon Musk's company SpaceX launched 60 Starlink communication satellites aboard a single rocket, in the first stage of its mission to provide cheap and reliable internet access worldwide .
The Starlink network will eventually consist of a "super-constellation" of close to 12,000 satellites, providing internet coverage across the globe, according to Musk.
Within days of the launch, skywatchers worldwide spotted the satellites flying in formation as they orbited Earth and reflected sunlight from their shiny metal surfaces.
Some people, unaware that artificial satellites can be seen moving against the night sky, .
SpaceX isn't the only organisation planning to launch a low-Earth-orbit constellation to beam internet back to the Earth.
The international OneWeb consortium, backed by Airbus, and Canadian firm Kepler Communications are both working on similar projects.
Now the American Astronomical Society (AAS) has expressed its concern about the long-term effects of the impending deployment of very large constellations of satellites into Earth orbit.
"The number of such satellites is projected to grow into the tens of thousands over the next several years, creating the potential for substantial adverse impacts to ground- and space-based astronomy," the AAS said in a statement.
These impacts could include:
- Significant disruption of optical and near-infrared observations by direct detection of satellites in reflected and emitted light;
- Contamination of radio astronomical observations by electromagnetic radiation in satellite communication bands;
- Collision with space-based observatories.
"The AAS recognises that outer space is an increasingly available resource with many possible uses," the organisation said.
"However, the potential for multiple large satellite constellations to adversely affect both each other and the study of the cosmos is becoming increasingly apparent, both in low Earth orbit and beyond."
It added that the impact of large satellite constellations needs to be thoroughly assessed before the number rises further, and invited space stakeholders including private companies to participate in this assessment.
"The natural night sky is a resource not just for astronomers but for all who look upward to understand and enjoy the splendour of the universe," said Jeffrey C. Hall, Chair of the AAS Committee on Light Pollution, Radio Interference, and Space Debris.
"Its degradation has many negative impacts beyond the astronomical."
