Scientists in the Netherlands have expressed worries that radio waves from Elon Musk’s growing constellation of Starlink satellites is interfering with scientific observations of the universe. According to Astron, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, new generation Starlink satellites are interfering with radio telescopes to a significant extent and threaten astronomical research.
Starlink satellites end radio astronomy in the real sense of cosmic impact. Starlink’s global broadband Internet proliferation has been found to interfere severally with radio telescopes than earlier models. “Every time more of these are launched with these kinds of emission levels, we see less and less of the sky,” said Professor Jessica Dempsey, director of Astron. This interference has been attributed to the second generation of satellites, whose radio signals are 32 times stronger than those from the first generation.
Astronomers employ radio telescopes to observe far away galaxies, black hole jets, and exoplanets. But the space satellite’s radiation is interfering with observations. LOFAR, a Dutch radio telescope used for one of the above studies in July, sensed electromagnetic radiation from nearly all V2 Starlink satellites that were observed, at levels about 10 million times brighter than the faintest stars that can be seen with the naked eye.
Satellite Network and Future Concerns
Today, some 6,402 Starlink satellites orbit Earth-342 miles above our world. Currently, the SpaceX network is the largest of its kind, ahead of OneWeb with fewer than 1,000 satellites. The number of satellites will balloon manyfold: Amazon plans to launch at least 3,000 more, and 100,000 may be the actual total by 2030.It is of importance to mention that the International Telecommunications Union had set the radiation levels, and which the new generation of Starlink satellites doesn’t comply with. This would raise a major issue when it comes to the problem it poses for radio astronomers to research cosmic phenomena properly.
Call for Action
It is a matter of urgency, according to Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society, UK. “It’s very clear that if you have something this bright that is compromising a major radio observatory this much, then we need to do something and we need to do it quickly,” he said.
The growing brightness of Starlink satellites and their implications for scientific research only underscore the need for potential regulatory and technical remedies that can reduce such interference with astronomical observation.
