Clusters of satellites orbiting the Earth are leaking more radiation into protected wavelength bands than ever before.
In fact, the second generation of Starlink satellites — known as the v2mini and v2mini direct-to-cell versions — emit 32 times more radiation than their predecessors.
This is a problem – because some of the radiation they leak is at radio wavelengths that must be kept clear for radio astronomy purposes.
When the issue was first raised in 2023, SpaceX said it was working on fixing it. Now, with 6,398 individual satellites In orbit at the time of writing, the problem has gotten worse.
“We started a project to monitor the unintended emissions from satellites belonging to different constellations, and our observations show that the second-generation Starlink satellites emit stronger emissions compared to the first-generation satellites and do so at a higher range of radio frequencies.” Astronomer Cees Bassa says Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON).
“Compared to the faint astrophysical sources we observe with LoFar, the unprojected electromagnetic radiation from the Starlink satellites is 10 million times brighter.
“This difference is similar to the brightness of faint stars and full moons visible to the naked eye. As SpaceX launches about 40 second-generation Starlink satellites each week, this problem is only getting worse.”
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Earth’s skies are growing increasingly crowded, and as more and more satellites join the growing clusters, this is a major concern for our night skies.
SpaceX is just a company. OneWeb is available 634 satellites. Amazon has More than 3,000 projects. China’s spaceship Constellation 15,000 target.
The most obvious effect of these satellites is the visible-light streaks they leave behind in visible-light observations taken at dusk.
But visible-light pollution isn’t the only light pollution produced by satellites. A study last year found that interstellar satellites are leaking radio waves outside the 10.7 to 12.7 GHz range.
Some of those leaks are in the 150.05 to 153 megahertz (MHz) range used for radio astronomy.
The new study analyzed data from a low-frequency sequence (Promises) in Europe, a network of about 20,000 radio antennas distributed in 52 locations.
They used two 1-hour observations with LOFAR’s six central stations, and observed 97 Starlink satellites emit radio waves in the frequency range of 110 to 188 MHz—the emissions of the V2mini versions are significantly brighter than those of the first generation of Starlink. satellites.
Currently, there are no regulations that address the unintended leakage of electromagnetic radiation from interstellar satellites. Researchers strongly recommend that such regulations be put in place.
Although the leakage from one or a cluster of satellites is small, the more satellites that enter low Earth orbit, the brighter the emission becomes.
In addition, researchers are asking Starling to use their data analysis to identify the source of unintended electromagnetic radiation on their satellites and find a way to fix the problem before it gets further out of control.
Humanity is clearly approaching an inflection point where we must take action to protect our skies as a window to explore the universe from Earth. Satellite companies are not interested in producing this unexpected radiation, so reducing it should also be a priority in their stable. “Space Policies” says engineer Federico de Vruno of SKA Laboratory.
“Starlink is not the only big player in low Earth orbit, but they have the opportunity to set the standard here.”
Radio astronomy has implications not only for space exploration. The technological advancements and discoveries made for exploration and exploration of the cosmos helped develop the technologies we use on Earth as well. Wi-Fi and GPS to do Medical Imaging. Harm to radio astronomy can have consequences we cannot predict.
“We need regulators to support us, and industry to meet us halfway.” ASTRON Public and Scientific Director Jessica Dempsey says. “Without mitigations, very soon the only galaxies we’ll see will be man-made.”
SpaceX has not yet responded to ScienceAlert’s request for comment.
Published in the thesis Astronomy & Astrophysics.
