Posted on Dec 9, 2022

World's largest communication satellite is a photobombing menace, astronomers warn

Lt Col Charlie Brown

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A giant new communications satellite that outshines almost all the stars in the night sky is obscuring telescopes’ views of the universe, scientists warn.
The massive orbiting "cell phone tower," known as BlueWalker 3, is creating both visible and invisible interference that could "severely hamper progress in our understanding of the cosmos," representatives of the International Astronomical Union(opens in new tab) (IAU) said in a statement. BlueWalker 3 is a prototype antenna that was designed and built by Texas-based communications company AST Space Mobile. The satellite launched into low-Earth orbit on Sept. 10 and unfurled its massive communications array on Nov. 14, Live Science's sister site Space.com reported. The mirror-like dish has a surface area of around 693 square feet (64 square meters), making it the biggest commercial communications array ever launched into orbit

World's largest communication satellite is a photobombing menace, astronomers warn

Posted from livescience.com

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COL Randall C.

Posted >1 y ago

First time I became aware of this as an issue was from a briefing I was in at NGA where a co-worker sitting next to me who was a avid astronomer commented on one of the telecommunication satellites was being discussed (the whole "5G vs GSP" debate that's been going on).

I think his comment was, "Great, more eye pollution in the sky when I want to see the stars".

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