I am an observational astronomer, studying how galaxies evolve over billions of years.
The recently launched BlueBird prototype, BlueWalker 3, has produced genuine alarm among astronomers.
While BlueWalker 3 was initially quite faint, it unfolded a 64 square metre communications array — roughly the size of a squash court. This vast surface is very good at reflecting sunlight, and BlueWalker 3 is now as bright as some of the brightest stars in the night sky.BlueWalker 3 passing over Oukaimeden Observatory on Nov. 16, 2022. At its brightest, BlueWalker 3 is brighter than all but a few stars in the night sky.
Large numbers of satellites this bright could be bad — very bad. If there were thousands of satellites this bright, sometimes you would be unable to look at the night sky without seeing bright satellites.There could be a big impact on professional astronomy. Brighter satellites do more damage to astronomical images than faint satellites.
Furthermore, many of these satellites broadcast at radio frequencies that could interfere with radio astronomy, transmitting
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