Off Topic. Starlink Satellites

How is it that these Starlink satellites can be launched in great numbers into Earth Orbit without any authorization of any kind.
These things are going up in vast numbers and are destroying the astronomical observability of the night sky....Take a long time exp photo and it is a fair bet that the shot will be contaminated with a mass of starlink satellite trails.
The night sky belongs to all mankind and it should remain visually uncontaminated and be World  heritage listed

If you have a few mill dollars to spare then build a dirty big laser and start knocking these things out of the sky.

That might start starlink wars

Not wanting to call you a Luddite but we are lock and loaded into this technology and its future
I'd be happy to go back to pay phones on the street corner or use a hand held map ,eg melways.
There's no turning back my friend,unless you pack up shop and go to woop woop


cheers moredeep

Unfortunately total reliance on technology is going to be our downfall.
If anybody can place a satellite or many satellites in Earth orbit and there will be thousands of these Starlink objects cluttering the night sky to ground based astronomical observational technology then it is just a matter of time when we will have bloody great big advertising placards in orbit bombarding our minds with even more bull Shite than what we are subjected to already via computers, mobile phones, in the shopping centres and everywhere there is media and multi media. & radio. There was time when subliminal advertising was illegal, now it is a way of life and nobody gives a Shite because our minds are being altered to accept  almost anything we are told as being true. Our kids no longer think for themselves because they are glued to computers and believe everything they see and hear on these things.

Quote:
STARLINK BUZZES PUERTO RICO: SpaceX successfully launched another batch of 60 Starlink satellites on Feb. 17th. Just hours after the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, the newly released satellites flew over Puerto Rico where a meteor camera captured them flying single-file across the sky:

SpaceX will literally control the world.

https://youtu.be/J6MnHzI9BwY

The camera is operated by the Astronomical Society of the Caribbean (Sociedad de Astronomia del Caribe), the largest astronomy group on the Island.  "A couple of flashes are visible ahead of the main group of satellites, perhaps from parts or a pair of Starlink satellites ahead of the others," notes the Society.

This latest launch brings the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to 300--a number that could grow to 42,000 by the time the Starlink project is complete. The good news is, Starlink could bring internet access to every corner of the world. The bad news is, Starlink poses a serious threat to astronomical research according to a recent study by the International Astronomical Union.

https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2020/02/15/the-problem-with-satellite-mega-constellations/

That's why some schools ban phones ,kids actually have to talk and play together,shock horrorrrrr
What hope do the young ones have about believing what is right or wrong when Face book won't remove articles that are "fake news"/blatant lies.
What is happening now is part of our evolutionary path.
It may be studied by archaeologist's in a couple of thousand years [That's is if anyone is still around ]
I'll be buried with my detector,if they dig me up it might keep em busy for a while working out what it is


cheers moredeep

The old adage:
"If you don't use it you loose it" is very true in relation to our minds, not just muscle.
Our minds are becoming weaker year by year and will continue to do so for as long as we continue to rely on technology to solve our problems.

A muscle may grow weak through dissuse but can be grow stronger again with training but once the brain looses its connections to various functions through lack of use over a long period of time it is not such an easy matter to reconnect them....the result is that we become apathetic dolts easily controlled by those who have kept their minds strong....We are becoming like drone bees.

Used to enjoy sitting down in the evening and watching the news, they actually relayed some good/happy news.
Personally do not know how todays news readers stay in their jobs with all the useless doom and gloom they relay.
Bashings, murders, drugs here, if that's not enough we have to endure Yankee doom and gloom.
No we don't have to endure it, we don't watch the nights news any more.
Pick up the local paper (West Australian) front page & third page, some silly young cow running around the footy field waving and animal rights flag. Turn to the back pages, there are only two footballers in WA, no wonder the Dockers can't win a premiership and the Eagles are struggling of late?
Second page another stealing a calf claiming he's prepared to go to jail and they let him off with a slap.
Could go on and on like an old stuck 78 record. (Speaking of which) Visited a second hand shop recently and they had 78" & 45"s for sale. The records had an advertising placard, "small" & "large."

Have a happy day folks.

Seems we cant have it both ways, clusters of low orbit satellites being the way forward for 5G telecommunications and wireless internet whilst at the same time obscuring space observation by the also ever increasing number of observatories.
I sometimes wonder about the importance of all this investigation of space, once outside our own solar system everything is historical, ie, observing happenings which occurred light years ago. Perhaps something out there did happen today that will impact earth in 100 light years time......but by then we will more than likely have been wiped out by one of those huge chunks of iron floating around in the periphery of our system...

Similar with the radio telescopes, they seem able to hear plenty of grunts and groans but not much in the way of spoken words......I used to get the same thing with my crystal set 70 years ago

This from Spaceweather.com
STARLINK PHOTOBOMBS VENUS AND URANUS: Venus and Uranus are converging in the constellation Aries for a loose conjunction on March 9th. Monitoring their approach, David Blanchard of Flagstaff, Arizona, tried to photograph the two planets on March 4th. "I was photo-bombed by Starlink!" he reports.



During Blanchard's exposure (15s with 3s gaps), a half dozen of SpaceX's internet satellites streaked between the planets. "At least one Starlink flared and was briefly one of the brightest star-like objects in the sky -- only exceeded by the Moon, Venus, and perhaps Sirius," he says.

It could have been worse. SpaceX has recently launched 300 Starlink satellites--a number which could grow as large as 42,000 in the years ahead. When the mega-constellation is complete, more than 1500 satellites could be above the horizon at any moment, according to an analysis by the International Astronomical Union. Meanwhile, efforts by SpaceX to darken their satellites have been unsuccessfu

These bloody Star Link satellites are becoming a serious pain in the butt for astronomy photography, not to mention why the crap is out there in the first place??

Quote from Space Weather .com

STARLINK x STARLINK: What's worse than a train of Starlink satellites cutting across an astro-photo? Two trains of Starlink satellites cutting across an astro-photo. In the Czech republic on April 19th, amateur astronomer Zdenek Bardon captured perhaps the first picture of two orthogonal Starlink trains in a single image:


"I was trying to photograph disintegrating Comet ATLAS (C2019 Y4)," says Bardon. "My local night sky suffers from light pollution, and stacking of multiple exposures is necessary in order to image the comet. Unfortunately, I had not considered the trajectories of the Starlink satellites, and many of my exposures were contaminated."
This is the latest illustration of a growing problem. To date, SpaceX has launched 360 Starlink satellites -- with more than 12,000 planned. These satellites are showing up unwelcomed in so many images of the night sky, we now have an entire photo gallery devoted to them.

This from Spaceweather.com today.

AN "ALIEN INVASION" OVER EUROPE? SpaceX's latest batch of Starlink satellites flew over Europe last night. "I have been looking at the sky for 40 years, I have seen many things, but never like this passage of the Starlink satellites!" reports Paolo Bardelli who watched the 60 "extremely bright" points of light glide over Sumirago (Varese), Italy. "Surely many people observing the sky will have thought of an alien invasion!" Similar reports are coming in from France, Germany, No, it is not an alien invasion. It might be worse...

What is the real agenda for these Star Link satellites?

There are no rules in place to regulate what can go into Earth Orbit. Soon there will be giant advertising banners in orbit.

https://youtu.be/89Lp6IoR2dc

https://youtu.be/ej3IV_WW0LE

Blah, blah, blah. Get over it and just photo shop your image.

Cheers

Doug

As I said earlier. Our minds become weaker the more we rely on technology and eventually we will accept anything as being normal.
Astro photography is a very minor aspect of the problems these satellites are causing.

Yes a photo can be digitally altered but the photographer cannot insert the object that was the focus of the photograph because it is or has been obscured by the satellites. There is no way that these devises are simply dedicated to the supply of global internet coverage....We already have very good coverage via land based transmission without the need for another 12000+ satellites........On the other hand there is already 600,000,000 satellites in orbit....Ya gotta wonder what they are all doing aye?.
Anyhow. I am just bringing the subject to the attention of others who might be interested; For myself; I could not give a stuff if they launch another 600,000,000.
I'll be dead in about 6 years so good luck to the rest of the up coming generations and their apathetic ever weakening minds.

I can understand the frustration Adrian,I liken it to all the EMI we get these days when using sensitive detectors.
Rather than being told blah blah blah, get over it,one has to learn to adapt and carry on.
I either live with it [emi] or buy a filter or two and twiddle the settings.
And who knows Adrian you still might be takings photos in 20 years time?? albeit a bit shaky 


cheers  moredeep

Yeah right!
Then I will be testing the resolving power of my new high tech camera on its ability to read the fine print on the giant advertising placards in orbit instead of on moon craters and Jupiter because they will be blanked out by all of the advertising floating about the heavens.