This satellite has become one of the brightest objects in the sky, much to the dismay of astronomers!

2023-10-06 18:13:12

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Only a few days ago, astronomers gave a name to a new illness from which they suffer: noctalgia or the sadness of seeing the starry sky disappear.

Noctalgia grips astronomers who launch an appeal!

And it is not the work carried out by the International Center for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Skies from Interference from Satellite Constellations, published in the journal Nature, which will boost their morale. Astronomers have studied the impact of the BlueWalker 3 satellite, the prototype of a constellation of more than a hundred others intended to be used for our mobile communications.

The brightest satellite of all

Observations have been made all over the world. A few weeks following the launch of BlueWalker 3 in September 2022, in low Earth orbit – less than 2,000 kilometers above our heads – they show that the satellite is not only, by far, the brightest of all, but that it is also now quite simply among the brightest objects in our sky.

Astronomers fear that if mitigation measures are not taken, our ability to enjoy the spectacle of the stars from Earth will be lost forever.

This new satellite that has become too bright angers astronomers

They also warn that BlueWalker 3 might even disrupt radio astronomy observations. Because it actively transmits at frequencies close to those used by researchers in the field.

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