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ASTEROID WARNING Elon Musk's web of satellites
make it harder to detect dangerous near-Earth
asteroids, scientists warn
Elon Musk's web of satellites makes it harder to detect
dangerous near-Earth asteroids, scientists have warned.
The number of satellites orbiting Earth has soared from
just a few hundred in 1986 to 10,000 today.
Another tenfold increase is expected over the coming
decade - much of it driven by Musk's Starlink network.
Starlink is a fleet of satellites which brings internet to
people with little or no signal - including troops in Ukraine.
But more than 100 astronomers have now warned
against launching more "megaconstellations" of satellites.
The boffins said clogging up the Earth's orbit with
satellites could block their telescopes' view of outer
space.
Professor Robert McMillan told Space: "Artificial
satellites, even those invisible to the naked eye, can
obstruct astronomical observations.
"These observations help detect asteroids and
understand our place in the universe.
"The potentially long-term environmental harms of
deploying tens of thousands of satellites are still unclear."
Light streaks from Starlink have dazzled a California
telescope which scans the sky for exploding stars and
dangerous near-Earth asteroids.
A study found that Musk's satellites could stop the Zwicky
Transient Facility picking up asteroids coming from the
sun.
Around one in five snaps from the huge telescope have
been affected, Scientific American reports.
Expert Przemek Mróz said: "We don't expect Starlink
satellites to affect non-twilight images.
"But if the satellite constellation of other companies goes
into higher orbits, this could cause problems for
non-twilight observations."
Co-author Tom Prince said: "There is a small chance that
we would miss an asteroid or another event hidden
behind a satellite streak."
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/31609240/elon-musk-satellites-asteroidsscientists/