Satellites spoiling more and more Hubble images
Astronomers are at loggerheads with satellite operators to stop a new generation of “megaconstellations” from ruining the views of ground-based observatories. Now, The New York Times reports, a study shows images from the Hubble Space Telescope are also increasingly marred by these orbiting interlopers. The rocket company SpaceX has launched more than 3500 of its Starlink satellites—providing global internet access—out of a planned 12,000 and other operators have similar plans. Images taken by ground-based observatories are already being crisscrossed by bright trails and radio telescopes could soon be deafened by satellite downlinks. Not even Hubble has escaped, a 2 March study in Nature Astronomy indicates. A team examined more than 100,000 Hubble photos and those taken before Starlink launches started had a 3.7% chance of containing a satellite trail. But in 2021—with 1562 Starlinks in orbit—that had increased to 5.9%, a proportion destined to increase as satellite constellations grow.
