Grootste commerciële satellieten ontvouwen zich en overstralen de nachtelijke hemel
Het tijdperk van irritant grote satellieten is aangebroken en gaat ons zicht op de glinsterende kosmos belemmeren. Vijf van de grootste communicatiesatellieten ooit gebouwd zijn onlangs uitgevouwen in een baan om de Aarde. Het is het
#ASTSpaceMobile #astronomie #Bluebird #Bluewalker3 #satelliet
As these objects are comparable in size to the prototype #BlueWalker3 (which reached magnitude zero under certain conditions), expect them to be of the same order.
This ensures that more big, bright #satellites are coming: "A Block 1 satellite would have 10 times the capacity of the company’s 1,500-kilogram BlueWalker-3 prototype; [Block2] would be twice as big and have 10 times the capacity of a Block 1 BlueBird." (via @spacenews_inc)
(Also, a reminder that this comms mode is potentially very harmful to ground-based radio astronomy.)
https://spacenews.com/verizon-plots-100-million-direct-to-smartphone-satellite-investment/
Large constellations of bright artificial satellites in low Earth orbit pose significant challenges to ground-based astronomy.
Current orbiting constellation satellites have brightnesses between apparent magnitudes 4 and 6,
whereas in the near-infrared Ks band, they can reach magnitude 2.
Radio emissions induce further potential risk to ground-based radio telescopes that also need to be evaluated.
Here we report the outcome of an international optical observation campaign of a prototype constellation satellite,
👉AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3.
#BlueWalker3 features a 64.3 m2 phased-array antenna as well as a launch vehicle adaptor (LVA).
The peak brightness of the satellite reached an apparent magnitude of 0.4.
💥This made the new satellite one of the brightest objects in the night sky. 💥
Additionally, the LVA reached an apparent V-band magnitude of 5.5,
💥four times brighter than the current International Astronomical Union recommendation of magnitude 7 💥
The expected build-out of constellations with hundreds of thousands of new bright objects1 will make active satellite tracking and avoidance strategies a necessity for ground-based telescopes
Satellite operators, astronomers and other users of the night sky must develop brightness mitigation strategies.
Hi #StellariumLabs, is there a way to zoom into the satellite visibility slider?
I use the ios app and I did not figure out how to do that. Maybe there is a gesture that I missed?
For example I want to zoom into this flyover of #Bluewalker3 of #AST_SpaceMobile. #stellarium
Our IAU Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference paper on observations of the #BlueWalker3 prototype #satellite is finally out in the latest print edition of Nature accompanied by a News & Views piece by @sundogplanets.
"The spectacle offered by a very dark night sky no longer just contains stars and planets that are standing still. We now also see numerous satellites… and only their movement allows us to distinguish them from the natural stars."
https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2023-11-06/boom-in-satellites-changes-the-sky-forever.html
#Satellites #Space #Astronomy #BlueWalker3 #Starlink #NightSky
Der erste von 100: Riesensatellit BlueWalker 3 heller als fast alle Sterne
AST SpaceMobile will mit riesigen Satelliten Smartphones online bringen. Nun bestätigt eine ausführliche Analyse die Befürchtungen in der Astronomie.
#ASTSpaceMobile #Astronomie #Bluewalker3 #Internetzugang #Lichtverschmutzung #Satelliten
#FR:
"„Besorgniserregender Trend“ – Fachleute sehen „immer drängenderes Problem“ am Nachthimmel"
".. Studie mit neuen Details zum Satelliten „BlueWalker 3“.."
8.10.2023
#Astronomie #BlueWalker3 #Nachthimmel #Raumfahrt #Satelliten #Weltraum
Satellit strahlt heller als die Sterne. Mobilfunk-Satellit BlueWalker 3 stört optische Astronomie und Radioteleskope. #Satellit #BlueWalker3 #Astronomie #Radioastronomie #Lichtverschmutzung
https://www.scinexx.de/news/kosmos/satellit-strahlt-heller-als-die-sterne/
The telecommunications satellite #BlueWalker3 is often so bright that it outshines 99% of the stars visible from a dark location on Earth. #darkskies
Our Nature paper about the AST SpaceMobile #BlueWalker3 #satellite is out: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06672-7
In it we conclude that "the expected build-out of constellations with hundreds of thousands of new, bright objects will make active satellite tracking and avoidance strategies a necessity for ground-based telescopes."
Here is some media coverage of it so far:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/science/bluewalker3-ast-spacemobile-astronomy.html
https://www.newsweek.com/satellite-bright-night-sky-concerns-astronomers-1831351
One of the Brightest Stars in the Sky is Actually a Satellite
While astronomers are already concerned about satellite megaconstellations like Starlink, they'mainlyely invisible to the unaided eye. But a prototype satellite called BlueWalker 3 is easy to spot, even in the most light-polluted skies. Launched in 2022, the 65-square-meter phased-array antenna reached a peak brightness of magnitude 0.4, making it one of the brightest objects in the sky. Satellites like this would obliterate telescope exposures as they pass through, like a flashlight shining into your eyes. And this is just the first of a possible constellation.
After #starlink… #bluewalker3, another thing that will fuck our sky … 😞
A New Satellite Outshines Some of the Brightest Stars in the Sky
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/science/bluewalker3-ast-spacemobile-astronomy.html?smid=url-share
In @Nature today: "Huge new satellite outshines nearly every star in the sky" https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03054-x plus research article on the high optical brightness of this satellite. #IAUS385
(I took this myself on November 30th 2022 with my phone from the back garden. That streak is #BlueWalker3 passing through Cygnus 😳)
Dank Riesensatellit: Erstes 5G-Telefonat über BlueWalker mit normalem Smartphone
Seit einem Jahr kreist der Riesensatellit BlueWalker 3 um die Erde und wird für Tests genutzt. Handelsübliche Smartphones kommen darüber schnell ins Internet.
#5G #Bluewalker3 #Breitbandausbau #Funklöcher #Internetzugang #Mobilfunk #Vodafone
New paper:
BlueWalker 3 Satellite Brightness Characterized and Modeled
A new paper has been published summarizing the evolution of @AST_SpaceMobile's #bluewalker3 brightness thanks to the determination of a group of dedicated observers.
From 22:32, BW-3 will fly over #Berlin with magnitude 1.4, elevation 47.9 degree https://ssar.space/s/BW-3/202304032027 #BlueWalker3
