JAKARTA – A new study led by Dr. Sierra Solter-Hunt, a former NASA physicist, warns against that megaconstellations (mega constellation) cheap satellites such as Elon Musk’s Starlink could disrupt the Earth’s magnetosphere. It also exposed all life on this planet to the dangers of deadly cosmic radiation.
The study is based on new estimates that Musk’s company SpaceX is currently shooting more than 2,755 pounds (1.3 tons) of wireless internet satellite debris into the Earth’s atmosphere every hour. This creates a series of metallic ‘carrier particles’ in orbit.
According to Dr. Solter-Hunt, particles from these satellites at the end of their lives can ‘break or trap the magnetic field’ that keeps the Earth’s atmosphere from escaping, ‘with all the highly conductive metal debris that accumulates in one area.’
Although he notes that this is a ‘real case’, a layer of charged metallic dust could cause ‘atmospheric exfoliation’ similar to the old fate of Mars and Mercury.
After working on NASA’s Stardust spacecraft research team in 2012, Dr. Solter-Hunt spent three years at the US Air Force Research Laboratory. There, he studied the electromagnetic behavior of plasma plumes in low Earth orbit (LEO), the region of the upper atmosphere where the Starlink orbital network resides.
“Right now we have about 10,000 satellites [di orbit]but in the next 10 to 15 years there will probably be 100,000,” said Dr. Selg-Soilleir. “By the time we reach 100,000 I think it may be too late in terms of the geoengineering experiments to planning to happen.”
The two pairs of Van Allen belts—two donut-shaped regions of tiny particles energized by cosmic radiation from the Sun—are the heaviest part of Earth’s magnetosphere. These belts rotate from the Earth’s North Pole and South Pole magnetically.
The weight of this vital section is very small compared to heavy satellite debris that could break its connection to the Earth – the total mass of the Van Allen belts is only 0.0004 pounds (or about 0.00018 kilograms).
The light weight and low mass of the magnetosphere means that large amounts of heavy satellite debris could have an unprecedented impact.
Several magnetosphere experts and planetary scientists at the University of Rochester in New York, Dr. John Tarduno criticized, in particular the new hypothesis in this paper that the concentration of metallic debris could be so thick that it disconnects the Earth from its Van Allen belts as a magnetic shield.
Dr. Solter-Hunt said DailyMail.com that none of his critics succeeded in dispelling his fundamental ideas. Even when he privately asked for deeper constructive criticism.
“I have been in contact with some (critics) to ask for further clarification on how I can improve my research and they simply do not know how I can improve my research on electrostatic signals, ” said Dr. Clear Hunt.
“So I don’t think there are any real scientific critics right now,” he said. “This paper is currently in the peer review process.”
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2024-04-20 19:05:00
#NASA #physicist #observes #Starlink #Constellations #impact #Earths #Magnetosphere
