Click on the blue time links below the video to jump straight to a talk.

This FAS webinar is aimed at the interested amateur through to early-career post-doctorate researcher. It aims to bring together expert speakers to explain the challenges that are posed by large constellations of satellites to the use of LEO space, the Earth environment, Indigenous cultures and Astronomy.

0:00:12 Day 1 Programme

0:01:20 Welcome, Dr Paul A. Daniels

0:03:02 An Introduction to Megaconstellations, Prof Andy Lawrence

0:28:09 SpaceX Satellites and the Night Sky, David Goldstein

0:57:57 Responsible Constellations, Maurizio Vanotti

1:17:30 40 Minute Lunch/Breakfast

1:18:04 Space Debris environment, Dr Hélène Ma

1:42:51 Flying Through Polluted Skies, Dr Thomas Ormston

2:10:35 Space Traffic Control, Stuart Eves

2:36:53 Q&A and Discussion, Dr Robert Massey & Panel

2:55:51 15 Minute Break

2:56:10 The environmental consequences of industrializing Earth orbits, Prof Aaron C. Boley

3:22:38 Satellite light pollution: an emerging threat to global night skies, Dr John C. Barentine

3:46:11 The impact of megaconstellations on heritage and Indigenous relationships to the night sky., Jessica Heim (and Doug Sinclair and Dr Juan-Carlos Chavez who were not recorded)

3:54:43 10 Minute Break

3:55:06 The Challenge of Megaconstellations in an Environmental Context, Dr Thomas Cheney

4:19:39 Overcoming Legal Challenges to a Sustainable Space Future, Charles L. Mudd Jr.

4:44:56 Q&A and Discussion, Dr Robert Massey & Panel

5:12:24 Close of Day, Dr Paul A. Daniels

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The IAU, together with partner organisations, has submitted a new Working Paper to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), seeking to protect dark and quiet skies from interference by human activities. The paper was accepted for discussion at the opening of the 59th session of the COPUOS Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (STSC) — the first time that the issue of dark and quiet skies has been tabled as a formal agenda item by the UN. Co-signed by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), the paper has been endorsed by Austria, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Slovakia and Spain. One of the main outcomes of this work is that UN COPUOS have decided to keep dark and quiet skies on the agenda for the 2023 STSC meeting.

As well as being a natural source of wonder, the pristine night sky has long been a stimulus to scientific exploration and discovery, and an invaluable aspect of humanity’s shared cultural heritage. As the prevalence of artificial light has increased, however, the visibility of the night sky has been greatly reduced around the world. And in the past few years, an even bigger threat has emerged as large constellations of satellites have been launched into low Earth orbit, in much greater numbers than ever before.

Although these satellites are important, for instance to provide Internet access to underserved regions, they have a number of detrimental effects on astronomy, owing to their brightness in the sky, their combined radio emissions and the sheer number of them. There could be up to 100 000 such satellites in orbit by the 2030s, meaning that at any point in time more than 5000 might be detectable above a typical mid-latitude observatory. In addition to disrupting visible-light observations, their radio emissions will be enough to contaminate the measurements of highly sensitive radio telescopes.

Source: https://www.iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann22010/

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7 February 2022

An international collaboration involving ESO has submitted a new paper to the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) seeking better protections for the Earth’s dark and quiet skies. The paper was accepted for discussion today at the ongoing session of the COPUOS Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, marking the first time the dark and quiet skies have ever been tabled as a formal agenda item by the United Nations. The paper, which has been endorsed by Chile, Spain and Slovakia, encourages the international community to protect global astronomical observing capabilities from disruptive and harmful artificial interference.  

The night sky offers a rich tapestry of stars to the fortunate viewer, but over the last few decades, its quality has been diminished as a result of encroaching ground-based light pollution. A new threat is now emerging: the large number of satellites being introduced into low Earth orbits. As many as 100 000 satellites could be placed into these orbits in the coming decade. While important for global communications networks, these satellites can disrupt astronomy because of the sheer number of them, their brightness in the sky, and their ubiquitous radio emissions. In particular, they can affect measurements which require twilight observation, such as searches for Earth-threatening asteroids.  

By the 2030s more than 5000 satellites could potentially be detectable above a typical mid-latitude observatory at any given moment. This will be noticeable in all wide-field images obtained at twilight except those taken by the smallest optical telescopes. Large constellations of satellites also pose a challenge to radio astronomy. The sheer number of new satellites will result in thousands of additional radio transmitters, affecting the measurements made by highly sensitive radio telescopes. There is a clear need for better global coordination, policies and laws for dark skies protection, but also for radio-quiet skies. 

Read more at https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann22001/

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Image credit: NOIRLab/@UNOOSA/IAU/Government of Spain/M. Lewinsky

NOIRLab has published The Working Group reports from the recent Dark & Quiet Skies II conference.

NOIRLab is the preeminent US national center for ground-based, nighttime optical and infrared astronomy.

The reports focus on the feasibility of implementing specific measures to mitigate the impact of artificial interferences.

Source: https://noirlab.edu/public/products/techdocs/techdoc051/

About the Document

Excerpt:

7. Scientific access to sky and spectrum
   Scientific access to sky and spectrum is eroding under the relentless pressure of commercial
   development of radio communication technology. Meanwhile, radio spectrum regulators are focused
   on the protection of frequency allocations and have no obvious means to address the biological,
   environmental, and broader scientific concerns that are the subject of the Dark and Quiet Skies
   conferences. Radio spectrum regulators authorize vast mega-constellations that occupy wide swaths
   of the radio spectrum used by radio astronomy while inadvertently reflecting sunlight at levels visible
   to the naked eye, disrupting optical astronomy. The dark and quiet sky threatens to become a nightly
   theater of artificial objects and artificially generated radiation that isolates us from the cosmos.
   The common lesson of all the studies conducted for the Dark and Quiet Skies effort, whether in regard
   to artificial light at night, to reflection of solar radiation by satellites, or to use of satellites for
   radiocommunication, is the principle that artificial radiation of whatever kind should not be
   produced if it is not needed and should not be detectable where it is not used. The radio
   astronomy recommendations embody this principle in the context of radio astronomy and
   implementing them is a critical step in maintaining scientific access to sky and spectrum and the
   Universe.
8. Towards implementation of the recommendations
   Radio astronomy requires portions of the radio spectrum (not constrained to the protected radio
   astronomy bands) to be interference-free, for sufficiently long periods of time, to enable scientific
   discoveries that can advance the human knowledge of the Universe, contribute to planetary defense,
   and create terrestrial reference frames used for global positioning, among many other applications.
   The invaluable work done by administrations and radio astronomy protection groups at the ITU-R,
   should be complemented by the Dark and Quiet Skies proposed work at COPUOS to raise the
   awareness on the vulnerability of radio astronomy to activities in space. The significant effect that
   satellite systems (as a space activity under the mandate of COPUOS) can have on radio astronomy, at
   all frequencies of the radio spectrum, requires urgent attention in this new era of unprecedentedly fast
   developments.
   The radio astronomy working group recommends that the potential impacts of space activities on
   radio astronomy are presented at COPUOS and national delegations are urged to consider these as
   part of the general assessment of environmental impact of any proposed space activity.

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Describes the scientific and cultural value of the sky

Illustrates the environmental damage of excess light

Explains the relationship between astronomy and space technology

Introduction

This book takes a close look at our relationship with the sky, the stars, light and darkness. In particular, it examines how light pollution has interfered with the culture of astronomy and our ability to appreciate this essential facet of our natural world.

The sky has always held significance for humanity, in both cultural and scientific terms. And yet we persistently pollute it with (sometimes unnecessary) light in our obsessive desire to chase away the darkness. This effectively switches off the stars, hampering our ability to enjoy one of the most inspiring sights nature has to offer to humankind. In addition, too much light is hazardous to both our health and that of the fauna and flora of this planet.This book also features a comprehensive look at the current controversy regarding efforts to expand internet access through the launch into low Earth orbits of thousands of new satellites, which will pollute the night with moving lights while filling to saturation the capability of the circumterrestrial space. This conflict does not mean that the interests of astronomy and those of space technology have to be at odds, and potential compromises are explored between the satellite initiative and the desire to maintain a dark, radio silent sky.

Bibliographic information

Book Title Saving the Starry Night

Book Subtitle Light Pollution and Its Effects on Science, Culture and Nature

Authors Patrizia Caraveo

DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85064-7

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“Mega-constellations” from those satellites will be visible to the naked eye, simulations suggest

By Lisa Grossman

Companies like SpaceX and Amazon have launched hundreds of satellites into low orbits since 2019, with plans to launch thousands more in the works — a trend that’s alarming astronomers. The goal of these satellite “mega-constellations” is to bring high-speed internet around the globe, but these bright objects threaten to disrupt astronomers’ ability to observe the cosmos (SN: 3/12/20). “For astronomers, this is kind of a pants-on-fire situation,” says radio astronomer Harvey Liszt of the National Radio Astronomical Observatory in Charlottesville, Va.

Now, a new simulation of the potential positions and brightness of these satellites shows that, contrary to earlier predictions, casual sky watchers will have their view disrupted, too. And parts of the world will be affected more than others, astronomer Samantha Lawler of the University of Regina in Canada and her colleagues report in a paper posted September 9 at arXiv.org.

“How will this affect the way the sky looks to your eyeballs?” Lawler asks. “We humans have been looking up at the night sky and analyzing patterns there for as long as we’ve been human. It’s part of what makes us human.” These mega-constellations could mean “we’ll see a human-made pattern more than we can see the stars, for the first time in human history.”

Read more at https://www.sciencenews.org/article/satellite-mega-constellations-night-sky-stars-simulations

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Abstract

The global spread of artificial light is eroding the natural night-time environment. The estimation of the pattern and rate of growth of light pollution on multi-decadal scales has nonetheless proven challenging. Here we show that the power of global satellite observable light emissions increased from 1992 to 2017 by at least 49%. We estimate the hidden impact of the transition to solid-state light-emitting diode (LED) technology, which increases emissions at visible wavelengths undetectable to existing satellite sensors, suggesting that the true increase in radiance in the visible spectrum may be as high as globally 270% and 400% on specific regions. These dynamics vary by region, but there is limited evidence that advances in lighting technology have led to decreased emissions.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/16/3311/htm

The post First Estimation of Global Trends in Nocturnal Power Emissions Reveals Acceleration of Light Pollution appeared first on EMFSA.

Abstract

The freedom of access to outer space has resulted in an exponential increase of objects located in Earth’s orbits. In the coming decade, up to 100,000 satellites in large constellations could be added to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) alone. These new activities require coordination with preexisting ones and consideration of the balance between the different interests at stake. This article addresses satellite constellations’ impact on astronomy and explores solutions to ensure that the development of both are coordinated and harmful interference is minimized. The research analyses former and recent international collaboration efforts to protect astronomy. The authors examine the international legal framework, evaluating the opportunity to consider astronomical observations as space activities, even when ground-based, and present the regulatory consequences of this interpretation, proposing the provision of information to the UN of the aforementioned activities through the mechanism of Article XI Outer Space Treaty (OST) and the protection of such activities through the consultation mechanisms of Article IX OST. Through the combined use of these articles and in compliance with the rules provided for by international space law, it should be possible to protect astronomy by coordinating with legitimate satellite constellations operations.

https://kluwerlawonline.com/journalarticle/Air+and+Space+Law/46.4/AILA2021031

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Source: Nature doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01954-4

16 July 2021

Working with the United Nations, scientists hope to establish standards for satellite ‘megaconstellations’ and reduce disruption of astronomical observations.

Alexandra Witze

Aerospace companies have launched about 2,000 Internet satellites into orbit around Earth over the past 2 years, nearly doubling the number of active satellites. This has sparked concerns among astronomers and other skygazers, who worry about interference with observations of the night sky.

Now, in what would be the biggest international step yet towards addressing these concerns, diplomats at a United Nations forum next month might discuss whether humanity has a right to ‘dark and quiet skies’. The debate could initiate a framework for how scientists and the public would deal with the flood of new satellites — with many more expected.

Tens of thousands of satellites could be added to Earth orbit in the next few years to provide broadband Internet, if companies and governments build and launch all the networks, or ‘megaconstellations’, they have publicly announced. The sheer number of these could mean that hundreds are visible all night long, affecting the sky like never before in human history. “These constellations are changing dramatically the way space has been used,” says Piero Benvenuti, an astronomer at the University of Padua in Italy and a former general secretary of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

He and other astronomers have been working through the IAU to raise international awareness of how the megaconstellations are affecting scientists and members of the public. They say the goal is not to pit astronomers against satellite companies, but to develop a vision of how to fairly use the shared, but ungoverned, realm of outer space. “The consensus has to come from all the countries,” says Connie Walker, an astronomer at the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona. Scientists discussed these and other topics at a conference on satellite constellations, called SATCON2, that was held virtually from 12 to 16 July.

‘Free for exploration’

Many astronomers were caught by surprise in 2019, when the first batch of Starlink Internet satellites launched by SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, turned out to be brighter than expected in astronomical images. In response to complaints, SpaceX tested several strategies to darken the satellites; it now launches all of its Starlinks with sunshades attached, to make them less visible when sunlight reflects off them. Astronomers and representatives of several companies, including SpaceX, have settled on a brightness threshold for satellites that is slightly fainter than the human eye can see in a dark sky. Starlinks are close to that brightness threshold but do not currently meet it, says Meredith Rawls, an astronomer at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Read more at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01954-4

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