Science & Space
This is partly because of the accessibility to the Internet in the world.
In big cities, pollution already prevents you from admiring the stars at night. And this sad observation should not improve. According to Samantha Lawler, professor of astronomy at the University of Regina in Canada, “ in the near future, one in 15 bright spots in the sky will be a satellite and not a star “. This is the conclusion that the scientist draws in an article published on the site The Conversation.
Currently, 5,000 satellites are already orbiting our planet. Only, in the years to come, 65,000 artificial objects should join the orbit of the Earth, which risks disturbing astronomical observations. One of the explanations for this staggering number would come from Elon Musk’s StarLink company, which wants to make it possible everywhere in the world to connect to the Internet. There would thus no longer be a white zone and everyone could have access to the web regardless of their geographical location. The company also plans to commission 42,000 satellites over the next five years.
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A technological advance that would not be without consequences for the night sky and the environment in general. ” It is an undeniable fact that the sun reflects off the solar panels of the satellites and that the constellations of satellites can be seen with the naked eye at the beginning and end of the night. confirms Pierre Omaly, expert on the subject of space debris and how to reconcile space technologies with society at CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales), with Good Planet. However, he is more reserved on the figure advanced and specifies that it is difficult to predict at present the exact number of objects which will be put into orbit in the years to come.