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It’s starting to get crowded up among the stars.
Thousands of satellites are being launched by space billionaires – something that has become a major problem for the world’s space scientists.
– It will be long lines that destroy the telescopic images, explains astronomy researcher Michael Lindqvist at Onsala Space Observatory.
Have you seen a bright dot move across the sky in just a few minutes?
It can be one of Elon Musks satellites.
In the last two years, space companies have launched about 2,000 satellites into Earth’s orbit. And they are unlikely to decrease – something that has caused concern among the world’s astronomers.
– There are many projects underway. If all were realized, there would be more than 100,000 satellites, he says Michael Lindqvist, astronomer at Onsala Space Observatory.
—-Elon Musk makes it for the space scientists.
–Photo: Hannibal Hanschke / TT NEWS AGENCY–
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Musk’s internet investment: 30,000 satellites
Even now, satellite heat is making a difference for space scientists, including in Sweden.
– When it comes to optical astronomy, there can be reflections from the sun towards the satellites. It creates long lines on the telescopic images that destroy, he says.
One of the many space projects in progress is Elon Musk’s Starlink initiative. It aims to provide fast internet access almost regardless of where you are in the world – by sending 30,000 satellites into orbit around the earth.
It will make up for it in radio astronomy – the branch in which Michael Lindqvist works.
– The signals sent down to earth from the Starlink satellites transmit information via radio wavelengths. These are very strong signals that interfere with our radio measurements, he says.
– The signals you try to measure are extremely weak. If there are tens of hundreds of thousands of satellites out there, it will be a big problem, he says.
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Can be seen with the naked eye
Ordinary stargazers, however, do not have to be as worried – even if the night sky will be affected if today’s plans become a reality.
Can I see the satellites?
– Yes, but then you need to get out in a dark place, in the summer cottage maybe. But you also have to know exactly where they are somewhere to have a chance to see them.
The issue is being discussed in the UN
The question of how astronomical research can be protected is all the way up to the UN level.
– We try to work together to solve this problem. And we talk to the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency, which regulates the frequency bands Sweden, to see how they can protect us at Onsala Space Observatory.
But Michael Lindqvist hopes that it will be possible to agree on how the space in space should be distributed fairly.
– They (satellite makers) have the right to do what they do. And they do not intrude on our frequency band, not right now anyway. We must be able to cooperate.
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