Starlink satellites could disrupt astronomy readings - study

Growing concerns over impact on radio astronomy
Starlink's second-generation satellites could interfere with and obscure astronomical readings, researchers say.
Iréne-Mari van der Walt
  • 3 Weeks Ago
While the ministry of information and communication technology remains mum on the likelihood of Starlink satellite internet services becoming available in Namibia, new research has shone a worrying light on Starlink's newer satellite models.

Research published by the Astronomy & Astrophysics Journal warns that the second generation of Starlink satellites emit higher levels of unintended electromagnetic radiation (UEMR) over a broader frequency range than their predecessors.

"The issue of the higher levels of UEMR from the second-generation Starlink satellites is further exacerbated by the lower orbits in which these satellites operate," the study states.

Researchers warn that the continued launch of such satellites may lead to an "inflection point" where astronomical observations could be, possibly irreversibly, affected.

"Given that low-frequency radio telescopes are primarily built for their large fields of view, the large numbers of satellites from current and future satellite constellations may lead to the situation that one or more satellites are present in the telescope’s field of view at any given time. In this case, temporal masking of data will no longer provide useful data," the research conducted by Bassa et al, notes.



Advocate for regulations

In essence, radiation emitted by satellites primarily consists of radio waves, which are similar to those emitted by distant space objects such as black holes, exoplanets, pulsars and stars. This means that the radiowaves emitted by satellites could interfere with and obscure astronomical readings.

"This is the primary reason why broadband UEMR is particularly worrisome for radio astronomy; it increases the risk that the entire observing bandwidth is affected by UEMR for the entire duration of the observation," the researchers found.

They propose that the astronomical community should advocate for regulations aimed at containing UEMR from satellites.

"In the absence of regulations that address UEMR emission from satellites, the astronomical community will have to raise and address this issue with regulatory bodies as well as satellite operators, and must continue to do so."

- irene-mari@nmh-hub.com.na