SpaceX largely to blame, as more and more images of the cosmos feature an artificial satellite in the shot
The study, led by Sandor Kruk at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Munich, combed through almost two decades of images taken by the Hubble telescope, relying on both citizen volunteers and a machine learning algorithm to identify streaks in the images that were likely made by passing satellites.
The researchers found that the chance of seeing a satellite in a Hubble image was approximately 3.7 per cent from 2009 to 2020, but that in the following year that increased to 5.9 per cent, a jump they attribute to the launch of the Starlink cluster and other new satellites. Sometimes multiple streaks showed up in a single photo.Article content
The researchers point out that satellite traffic poses more than just an optical risk to the Hubble. As they run out of manoeuvring propellant and power, “the other concern is that these artificial satellites will become space debris, increasing the amount of space junk and the potential of HST colliding with a debris object.” In the tourist analogy, imagine you’re lining up the perfect vacation photo when someone bumps into you – but at supersonic speeds.
And, ironically, SpaceX may come to the rescue, in a manner of speaking. Last fall it was announced that it was conducting a study into the feasibility of using a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to visit the elderly telescope and nudge it into a higher orbit. In the 14 years since Hubble was last serviced by visiting astronauts aboard the space shuttle, its orbit has dropped by more than 30 km.
Of course, in many ways the Hubble has been usurped in the public’s imagination by the James Webb Space Telescope, which left Earth on Christmas Day, 2021, and started beaming back images of the cosmos last summer. Its orbit near the Lagrange point between the Earth and the sun places it about 1.5 million km away, or roughly four times the distance to the moon. It’s the wealthy backpacker who decided to get far away from the rest of the tourists so it could enjoy the view in peace.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lagoon Nebula shines in gorgeous new Hubble imageWithin the Lagoon Nebula lies the star cluster NGC-6530, made up of a few thousand stars.
Read more »
SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts hope to leave space station March 9 as NASA watches weather'The universe started throwing curveballs our way, and then it got really crazy.'
Read more »
Watch SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts leave the space station March 11 after delayWatch SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts leave the space station Thursday evening
Read more »
Watch SpaceX launch 40 OneWeb internet satellites on ThursdayLiftoff is scheduled for 2:13 p.m. ET on Thursday (March 9).
Read more »
New Image Is Our First Look at SpaceX's 'Mini' Starlink in OrbitHEO Robotics captured the fully deployed next generation satellite days after it was deployed from a Falcon 9 rocket.
Read more »