CNN Indonesia
Tuesday, 28 Mar 2023 21:10 WIB
Illustration. The beauty of the starry night is disturbed by the satellite constellation. (AFP PHOTO / Ye Aung Thu)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Education The latest reveals the space company’s satellite constellation SpaceX Elon Musk’s spoils the view of the night sky.
Less than a month after astronomers discovered satellite trails interfering with many photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, a new study urges scientists to “fight like hell” to protect the night sky from increasing light pollution.
“We are highly pessimistic about the path that is being taken by the significant sections of the scientific community (and other actors) working on and having responsibility for this area of research,” the researchers wrote in a paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy on Monday (20/3).
The new study says astronomers’ current efforts to reduce the problem of light pollution won’t solve the problem unless strict and immediate regulations are put in place.
Quoted from Spacelight pollution caused by artificial lighting in cities and satellites crowded into low Earth orbit hindered astronomical observations since at least 1957.
For more than six decades, astronomers have repeatedly raised concerns that observations made by telescopes on Earth are getting worse.
Most of the blame goes to light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which were once considered an efficient solution for saving energy and money by focusing light on a specific area. However, LED lights are known to exacerbate light pollution.
The 100,000-hour pole LED lamp will last 24 years, four times longer than the predominant sodium lamps.
To get as far away from urban lights as possible, scientists have built observatories in remote areas that haven’t experienced high light pollution.
However, according to the article, Earth does not have many such locations, and “there are hardly any remote places available on Earth that simultaneously satisfy all the characteristics necessary for setting up observatories.”
Space telescopes in low Earth orbit are also a problem. Earlier this month, a team of scientists discovered that more than 5 percent of recent Hubble Space Telescope images were distorted by SpaceX’s Starlink satellite.
Starlink is SpaceX’s broadband megaconstellation of more than 3,700 satellites. Apart from that, other companies like Amazon are also planning to build their own megaconstellations in the near future.
Astronomers have been vocal about the impact of light pollution on astronomy ever since artificial satellites became a distraction to telescope observations.
When SpaceX launched the first Starlink satellite, amateur and professional astronomers were quick to point out the satellite’s surprising exposure to light.
The body and solar panels reflect sunlight and are bright enough to be seen by the unaided eye.
For years, astronomers closed their telescope windows when a satellite passed in plain sight and sometimes pointed it at other areas of the sky that had no satellites.
Earlier this year, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and SpaceX agreed to reduce satellite interference on radio equipment for astronomical research.
However, according to recent studies, the agreement is only a mitigation strategy that will not solve the problem in the end.
Therefore, the study authors are calling on the scientific community to do more and demand stricter regulation.
“Now is the time to consider banning megaconstellations and promoting a significant reduction in [cahaya buatan di malam hari],” said the study authors.
“Our world definitely needs a ‘new deal’ for the night,” they added.
(lom/arh)
