Satellite tv for pc trails crisscross the night time
John Ashley in southern Arizona emailed a timelapse video to EarthSky this week, exhibiting Comet 13P/Olbers crossing the sky. However much more noticeable are the “tons of satellite trails,” as John stated. The onslaught of satellites makes it tough to focus on the fuzzy solar system customer passing Earth. Additionally, see should you can spot the 2 airplanes within the video. Right here’s what John informed EarthSky about making the video:
We now have a minimum of every week of monsoon clouds within the forecast right here in southern Arizona. So on the night time of July 9, I drove over to Buenos Aires Nationwide Wildlife Refuge to see if I may discover Comet 13P/Olbers via the skinny layer of native haze and wildfire smoke (from Utah). It was 100 F (37.7 C) at sundown, partly cloudy, with a little bit of illumination from a 17% crescent moon after I began this timelapse at 8:53 p.m.
I scanned all night with binoculars, however was unable to see the comet with my eyes. Atmospheric extinction alongside the western horizon was fairly unhealthy, with many of the stars additionally disappearing earlier than reaching the mountains.
The satellites above the haze, nevertheless, have been simply seen to my eyes. The composite picture on the finish of the video solely contains 45 minutes’ price of photographs when the comet was within the body (9:45 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.). Curving strains angling down are stars, straight strains angling up are satellites, and the comet path is barely seen if you recognize precisely the place to look.
Are satellites ruining the night time sky?
The problem of satellites is hotly debated amongst astronomers. Right here’s what John needed to say about this contemporary type of gentle air pollution.
I’ve been a darkish sky advocate for a decade now, giving many public applications. And I’ve discovered that preaching doesn’t actually work. So now I simply attempt to present individuals examples of sunshine air pollution, and so they’ll determine if it’s essential sufficient to handle one way or the other in their very own lives. Numerous these satellites are helpful to us all. I depend on a few of them for climate, local weather change and lightweight air pollution information. So it’s not like they’re going away anytime quickly. It’s simply unhappy to see the loopy proliferation, and I miss the times when ‘spot the satellite’ was enjoyable.
Backside line: EarthSky neighborhood member John Ashley captured a comet – and satellite trails – crisscrossing the Arizona night time sky on July 9, 2024. Watch his video right here.
