SpaceX is launching 'dark satellites' to stop its Starlink project from wreaking havoc with astronomical research. Astronomers are skeptical.
Elon Musk's space exploration company, SpaceX, plans to launch up to 42,000 satellites into orbit to beam internet down to remote parts of the Earth.
SpaceX's announcement that it was painting its satellites dark came as a surprise to experts like Giorgio Savini, director of the University College London Observatory.One of the biggest problems with painting a satellite dark is heat regulation. Dark paint absorbs the heat of the sun, causing the satellite to heat up huge amounts and then cool when it goes into the Earth's shadow.
One of the main ways astronomers look for things like exoplanets is by monitoring the light given out by stars. When a planet passes in front of a star it blocks the light causing a brief flicker that can be detected and investigated — this is called "occultation." The sheer number of Starlink satellites planned is what makes this a pressing threat: "If we were talking about one or two satellites I wouldn't be worrying too much," said Savini.A dark coating doesn't address one of the major problems with the Starlink satellites: They could compromise a sub-field of astronomy, called radio astronomy, that studies normally invisible wavelengths of light.
"The footprint of these satellites is going to be much, much bigger than ground-based transmitter making it much harder to establish preserves," Clements said. "They are going to be blinding the radio telescopes, possibly quite literally if the signals are going to be strong enough to damage the receivers that we're working with," he added.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Elon Musk may crash in this historic Texas home during Starship work - Business InsiderElon Musk is working on SpaceX's Mars rocket ship in Texas while other top executives flock to Davos. A local thinks the CEO is using an historic home as a crash pad — take a look inside.
Read more »
Samsung reportedly working on AirDrop rival for Galaxy phones called Quick Share - Business InsiderIt looks like Samsung is working on a sharing feature called Quick Share for Galaxy smartphones, similar to AirDrop on the iPhone
Read more »
How to make taking a sabbatical from work affordable - Business InsiderTaking a sabbatical from work may seem a lofty goal, but in reality, it's very attainable if you plan carefully and follow these steps.
Read more »
Yum China CEO reveals why the company is tackling delivery in a completely different way from its rivalsYum China CEO Joey Wat told Business Insider why the brand refuses to outsource its delivery business to third parties.
Read more »
Sh-t That I Knit: Millennial turns her knitting blog into a business - Business InsiderBy using Instagram as a marketing tool, CEO Christina Fagan-Pardy was able to build a sizable millennial following and consumer base.
Read more »
The president of Microsoft says it took its bid for the $10 billion JEDI cloud deal as an opportunity to improve its tech – and that's why it beat AmazonMicrosoft viewed the bidding for the Pentagon's $10 billion contract as a 'very large scale engineering project,' Brad Smith told Business Insider.
Read more »