Amira Shehata wrote Friday, July 21, 2023 09:00 PM
Scientists have revealed that there are some things we’re losing as Starlink internet satellites and others like them take over the night sky, which includes studying dark matter, observing distant galaxies and finding signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.
According to the “business insider” website, a new research paper indicated that SpaceX’s network of low-orbit satellites emits “unintentional electromagnetic radiation” that could negatively affect the study of deep space, and a group of scientists from the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy said they detected radiation on board 47 out of 68 satellites observed over the course of an hour, according to a study published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The Starlink satellites, chosen for their abundance in the sky compared to other low-orbit satellites, were observed using the Low Frequency Array Telescope in the Netherlands. The telescope is the largest in the world” consisting of 40 radio antennas spread across Europe with the ability to observe wavelengths of radiation from the most remote regions in space.
Scientists detected frequencies from Starlink satellites from 110 to 188MHz, a unit of measure used for electromagnetic waves, and noted that this range “includes a protected band between 150.05 and 153MHz.”
This protected range, reserved specifically for radio astronomers to study space, has scientists worried that radiation could affect their observations.
Fahey Piromian, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Southern California, told Dorencieff that internal disturbances from Starlink satellites can be compared to a signal spoiling music from a radio station.
Federico Di Vruno, one of the study’s co-authors and co-director of the International Astronomical Union’s Center for Protecting Dark and Quiet Skies from Satellite Constellation Interference, said that as more low-orbit satellites are sent into space, these unintended emissions could be amplified, making it more difficult for radio telescopes to use.
