Radio Waves Battle for Access to Black Hole Data

Essential astronomy hampered by surge in device usage.

Pinpointing our location in the universe relies on tracking radio waves from black holes. But a surge in radio wave usage for everyday technology is making it difficult for astronomers to get a clear signal.

Reliance on Black Holes

Essential satellite services, including communication, navigation, and banking, depend on knowing the precise location of satellites. Determining their placement relies on understanding Earth’s orientation in space, which requires a stable reference frame. The best anchor points for this frame are supermassive black holes at the centers of distant galaxies. These black holes emit streams of radiation that can be tracked using very long baseline interferometry, a technique that employs a network of radio telescopes.

Radio Wave Traffic Jam

Radio telescopes detect radio waves, which pass cleanly through the atmosphere, regardless of weather. However, the rise in popularity of devices that use radio waves, like cell phones, has created a crowded radio spectrum. A limited number of lanes are reserved for radio astronomy; to reach the precision needed for today’s tech, geodesy relies on more than the lanes reserved for astronomy.

Human-made electromagnetic pollution has drastically increased. Scientists moved to higher frequencies with the emergence of WiFi and mobile phone services. But a fleet of thousands of satellites sending internet connections directly further congests the spectrum.

Risks to Satellite Services

The multitude of signals are now often too strong for observatories to clearly detect the faint signals emitted by black holes, which endangers satellite services. For example, GPS accuracy is decreasing by approximately 0.39 inches per year due to interference (GPS.gov).

Possible Solutions

To ensure the continuation of essential satellite services, geodesists need more access to the radio spectrum. This could be achieved through international treaties, radio quiet zones around essential radio telescopes, or cooperation from satellite providers to minimize radio emissions directed at radio telescopes. Since each nation regulates its radio spectrum, a global solution is required.

Increasing awareness of the issue is a crucial first step. Preserving the ability to track black holes in distant galaxies is essential to maintain satellite navigation, supply chains, and online financial transactions.