Prof. Sam Lawler
Prof. Sam Lawler@raucao@kosmos.social @skyglowberlin@fediscience.org Dude you're completely wrong about Starlink satellites being less bright now: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2507.00107
Prof. Sam Lawler@raucao@kosmos.social @skyglowberlin@fediscience.org And Starlink quietly stopped using visors many years ago. And made their satellites bigger, and bigger, and bigger.
Prof. Sam LawlerAs long as I'm screaming, I hate hate hate that lower altitude orbits has become a standard request from astronomers to satellite operators.
Lower orbits make satellites blur out more for the specific setup of the Vera Rubin Observatory, I do not know if this is true for any other observatories in the world.
Lower orbits make satellites brighter and faster, which is worse for naked-eye stargazers and astrophotographers, and presumably for wildlife though nobody I know has studied that yet.
Prof. Sam LawlerBut the worst misconception is that the Earth's shadow will block more of the satellites at lower altitudes. This is true, but ONLY if you are at latitudes closer to the equator than 40 or so.
If you're closer to the poles (particularly around 50N or S, where I live, and a lot of you in Europe live), the Earth's shadow doesn't help. There's even more naked-eye visible satellites.
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac341b
Prof. Sam LawlerJust need to scream a little bit about how there are actually hard limits to how much stuff we can have in orbit without severe consequences! It's ok to say that out loud, even if the techbros don't want to hear it!
It's ok (and vitally important) to have in your list of recommendations for satellites operators "Don't launch so many satellites." This is really pretty key to not destroying the night sky, LEO, and/or the atmosphere.
Prof. Sam LawlerAs long as I'm screaming, I hate hate hate that lower altitude orbits has become a standard request from astronomers to satellite operators.
Lower orbits make satellites blur out more for the specific setup of the Vera Rubin Observatory, I do not know if this is true for any other observatories in the world.
Lower orbits make satellites brighter and faster, which is worse for naked-eye stargazers and astrophotographers, and presumably for wildlife though nobody I know has studied that yet.
Prof. Sam LawlerJust need to scream a little bit about how there are actually hard limits to how much stuff we can have in orbit without severe consequences! It's ok to say that out loud, even if the techbros don't want to hear it!
It's ok (and vitally important) to have in your list of recommendations for satellites operators "Don't launch so many satellites." This is really pretty key to not destroying the night sky, LEO, and/or the atmosphere.
Prof. Sam LawlerI really like how my interview ended! To reiterate: Special thank you to everyone who shares the night sky with the general public by volunteering your time and equipment!
And the episode wraps up with a nice discussion of ground-based urban light pollution, and why it's gotten so bad lately (it's because of LEDs - they are brighter, bluer, and cheaper, so they are hideously overused). But this is easy to fix: just turn it off.
Hope you enjoyed my breakfast live-toot-listening session haha
Prof. Sam LawlerRelated: I just started reading The Inner Clock by Lynne Peeples, all about how our bodies really do need exposure to light at the same time every day, and also need darkness, in order to keep pretty much everything functioning inside us. I'm only a chapter and a half in, but I already think it's really going to change how I use artificial light in my own house...
https://lynnepeeples.com/the-inner-clock/
Prof. Sam LawlerTheir satellite numbers are a few months out of date, but ok, they get the point across that there are lots, and do a good job setting the stage for why satellites are so bad for astronomy.
Great explanation of how light pollution from satellites works, and why it's so bad for astronomy.
Ok here's me. Haha wow I sound more like a valley girl than usual (maybe it's the contrast with all the smooth British accents). Izzy was a great interviewer, so I'm pretty happy about how this came out!
Prof. Sam LawlerI really like how my interview ended! To reiterate: Special thank you to everyone who shares the night sky with the general public by volunteering your time and equipment!
And the episode wraps up with a nice discussion of ground-based urban light pollution, and why it's gotten so bad lately (it's because of LEDs - they are brighter, bluer, and cheaper, so they are hideously overused). But this is easy to fix: just turn it off.
Hope you enjoyed my breakfast live-toot-listening session haha
Prof. Sam LawlerI'm listening to this episode for the first time and it starts of Very British, and it's reminding me how incredibly spoiled I am with dark sky access here on the prairies. They go visit a "dark sky" site which looks to be within easy driving distance of London (so...not very dark) and it's just...so sad to listen to them describing how the clouds are only sort of lit up...
Prof. Sam LawlerTheir satellite numbers are a few months out of date, but ok, they get the point across that there are lots, and do a good job setting the stage for why satellites are so bad for astronomy.
Great explanation of how light pollution from satellites works, and why it's so bad for astronomy.
Ok here's me. Haha wow I sound more like a valley girl than usual (maybe it's the contrast with all the smooth British accents). Izzy was a great interviewer, so I'm pretty happy about how this came out!
Prof. Sam LawlerRE: https://mastodon.social/@electric_gumball/115644295969010253
Here it is through one podcast app I've never used, but lets you stream through a web browser without downloading a separate app, at least...
Prof. Sam LawlerI'm listening to this episode for the first time and it starts of Very British, and it's reminding me how incredibly spoiled I am with dark sky access here on the prairies. They go visit a "dark sky" site which looks to be within easy driving distance of London (so...not very dark) and it's just...so sad to listen to them describing how the clouds are only sort of lit up...
Prof. Sam LawlerApparently the episode of the Supermassive Podcast I got interviewed for is out!
Normally I'd post a link to the episode on the show's website, but it appears that the show doesn't actually have a website, it's only available through podcast apps... hm. So uh, go find it yourself, I guess? That's rather unsatisfying...
Prof. Sam LawlerRE: https://mastodon.social/@electric_gumball/115644295969010253
Here it is through one podcast app I've never used, but lets you stream through a web browser without downloading a separate app, at least...
Dingo@sundogplanets@mastodon.social
I see a name I recognize in the latest episode of the supermassive podcast!
https://shows.acast.com/the-supermassive-podcast/episodes/protecting-our-dark-skies
#Astronomy
Prof. Sam LawlerApparently the episode of the Supermassive Podcast I got interviewed for is out!
Normally I'd post a link to the episode on the show's website, but it appears that the show doesn't actually have a website, it's only available through podcast apps... hm. So uh, go find it yourself, I guess? That's rather unsatisfying...