Step outside some night and look up at the sky. You may be able to identify some constellations or one of the visible planets, but you will very likely be able to find a satellite speeding by. More than 5,000 commercially operated satellites occupy low-Earth orbit and, according to Scientific American magazine, the Federal Communications Commission is processing permits for over 430,000 more. Four hundred and thirty thousand. That is not a typo, it’s a nearly 100-fold increase in the number of man-made objects cluttering the night sky.

Satellites power some of the most incredible aspects of modern life but they also pose a serious threat to the future of ground-based astronomy. Researchers around the world are already forced to rewrite telescope scheduling programs to minimize the obstructions caused by passing satellites. The addition of hundreds of thousands of new and brighter satellites would make this already impractical task impossible.

This next generation of satellites could be developed to reflect less light and be less disruptive to astronomers but, without pressure from the public and regulators, there is no reason to assume that will happen. The risk to scientific research is profound but equally great is the impact on naked-eye observation.

The human race has been awed and humbled by the vastness of space since at least the dawn of recorded history. If left unchecked, commercial enterprises launching these satellites could deprive future generations of this experience, replacing the night sky with a ceiling of artificial light.

To paraphrase one researcher interviewed, who should control what we see in the night sky?

Jonathan H. Strieff

South China

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