Interferes with stargazing: Amazon's Leo constellation too bright for research
Amazon wants to send thousands of satellites into space for its internet service. They are already interfering with astronomy and the enjoyment of the night sky
Streaks of first-generation Starlink satellites against the starry sky
(Image: T. Hansen/IAU OAE/Creative Commons Attribution)
Amazon's internet satellites for the constellation recently renamed Leo are not as bright in the night sky as the brightest satellites, but can interfere with stargazing and almost invariably with research. This is the result of an analysis now presented, which also warns that Amazon's satellites could reflect even more light in the future. The mega-constellation thus contributes to light pollution from Earth orbit.
The measured values ​​accordingly correspond to what was initially measured with Starlink satellites, but their reflections could be dimmed. Amazon is also working with research to minimize the effects.
For the work now presented, a group of astronomers measured the brightness of the Leo satellites in the night sky using different techniques. The group led by Anthony Mallama from the IAU Center for the Protection of the Night Sky determined that 92 percent of the satellites exceed the brightness limit set by the International Astronomical Union for research during their operation. A quarter distract from the "aesthetic admiration of the night sky," as they call it. The latter occurs at an apparent magnitude of 6, which exceeds approximately 4800 stars. The research limit is 7 to 8 mag, depending on the distance of the satellites.
Amazon shows cooperation
In the analysis, which has not yet been independently verified, the research group points out that Amazon is working on dimming the satellites. For example, the underside could be equipped with a kind of mirror that reflects sunlight into space. The research results are therefore not an alarm signal in themselves, but they join the ever-growing list of warnings about the effects of the rapidly increasing number of satellites on astronomy. The research group also operates its own website, where the measurement results for different mega-constellations are compared.
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Unsurprisingly, according to the list, the BlueBird giant satellites from the US company AST SpaceMobile are by far the brightest in the night sky. On average, at 3.44 mag, they are so bright that they are only outshone by a few hundred stars. The brightest, however, have an apparent magnitude of about 2 mag, which corresponds to that of Polaris. For astronomy, they are therefore a major problem – this also applies to a lesser extent to Starlink satellites and those of the two Chinese mega-constellations Qianfan and Guowang. Only OneWeb does not interfere with stargazing, and the European constellation also reaches exactly the brightness limit for research.
(mho)
