This Device Can Help Astronomers Tackle Satellite Flares In The Sky To Get Clear Stellar Images

Satellites reflect light from the sun to earth while moving in the sky. This makes them appear bright and shiny. However, the problem is that they need power from solar panels, which reflects sunlight to ground-based astronomical telescopes, which can hamper space observations. Further, they become more reflective after launch until they are positioned in the lower orbit and clustered. As they disperse in the sky or move in higher orbits, they become faint, and their brightness reduces. 

As more and more space agencies are joining the race to launch maximum satellites, the “space traffic jam” or space junk is also increasing, which can impact future stellar research and observations. 

A way to comprehensive astronomical research

As satellite light trails are one of the major concerns for astronomers, the research team made a satellite tracking device to monitor the path and brightness of Starlink satellites, the largest satellite network operated by SpaceX. The team then compared the received data to government satellite tracking data from the Space Track Catalogue database, an American platform promoting space flight safety and space environment protection. The team made calculations for 61 Starlink satellites for two years and discovered that the actual positions of these satellites recorded in the Space track catalogue database differ by 0.3 arc seconds from their (UArizona team’s) calculations. In the sky, one arc second implies a distance of 30 metres. 

Image Credits: Pixabay