Prof. Sam Lawler
Prof. Sam LawlerHey cool, the Smithsonian Podcast episode interviewing me about space debris is out! https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/series/theres-more-to-that/season-2/the-astronomical-problem-of-space-junk/
(disclaimer: I have not yet listened to it!)
Prof. Sam LawlerTrying to see the bright side:
It was -28C this morning (it was -2C yesterday morning), so at least there were incredibly pretty ice crystals on the heated waterer.
And Starlink trains are a great way to test the Starlink reflection models I built with Aaron Boley and @hannorein@mastodon.social. I have never wanted to be wrong about a scientific prediction before that paper, but it sure looks like we did well. Fucking annoying. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac341b
Prof. Sam LawlerRelatedly, data centers in orbit are a fucking terrible idea (not the title Scientific American used, but they should have) https://archive.ph/UPkWu
The SA article references a paper that analyses the carbon footprint of orbital data centers, since techbros talk about "unlimited" solar power so they are "green" right? Well, only if you ignore the GIGANTIC carbon footprint of launching them into orbit and burning them up in the atmosphere: https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3757892.3757896
Prof. Sam LawlerImportant* paper coming up on the arxiv tonight!! Coincidentally I yelled swear words across the lonely, dark, frozen fields toward a Starlink train that destroyed my sky this morning. (The goats did not care about my yelling, they were too busy eating grain)
*Important = shit-disturbing
It was not a coincidence, there are too fucking many Starlinks
Prof. Sam LawlerTrying to see the bright side:
It was -28C this morning (it was -2C yesterday morning), so at least there were incredibly pretty ice crystals on the heated waterer.
And Starlink trains are a great way to test the Starlink reflection models I built with Aaron Boley and @hannorein@mastodon.social. I have never wanted to be wrong about a scientific prediction before that paper, but it sure looks like we did well. Fucking annoying. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac341b
Prof. Sam LawlerImportant* paper coming up on the arxiv tonight!! Coincidentally I yelled swear words across the lonely, dark, frozen fields toward a Starlink train that destroyed my sky this morning. (The goats did not care about my yelling, they were too busy eating grain)
*Important = shit-disturbing
It was not a coincidence, there are too fucking many Starlinks
Prof. Sam LawlerI've got a cup of coffee and a cat on my lap, and I'm ready for this presentation! I hope my power/internet holds...it's very windy and snowy now...
Prof. Sam LawlerAlways impressive to realize how most people, even most astronomers, have absolutely no idea how dangerous the situation in Low Earth Orbit is, thanks to megaconstellations stuffing huge satellites into high densities.
Prof. Sam LawlerGot my slides put together for this meeting tomorrow. It's a damn good summary of the many ways that terrible things are happening in orbit that are already RIGHT NOW destroying the night sky, destroying the atmosphere, dropping shit on people, and making collisions much more likely in orbit. I think I might have to just go cry now.
Prof. Sam LawlerI've got a cup of coffee and a cat on my lap, and I'm ready for this presentation! I hope my power/internet holds...it's very windy and snowy now...
Prof. Sam LawlerMmmm nothing like a layer of freezing rain on top of a bit of snow, a bunch more snow, and then many days of very very negative temperatures.
Prof. Sam LawlerGot to play the traditional Saskatchewan game of "where the hell do you think the road is" earlier today
Prof. Sam LawlerI love getting invited to important committee meetings with Canadian Space Agency representatives with less than 24 hours notice! Especially when don't tell me how long I'm supposed to speak for or exactly what to focus on other than "Dark and Quiet Skies!"
Grumble grumble.
Prof. Sam LawlerGot my slides put together for this meeting tomorrow. It's a damn good summary of the many ways that terrible things are happening in orbit that are already RIGHT NOW destroying the night sky, destroying the atmosphere, dropping shit on people, and making collisions much more likely in orbit. I think I might have to just go cry now.
Prof. Sam LawlerMmmm nothing like a layer of freezing rain on top of a bit of snow, a bunch more snow, and then many days of very very negative temperatures.
Prof. Sam LawlerI love getting invited to important committee meetings with Canadian Space Agency representatives with less than 24 hours notice! Especially when don't tell me how long I'm supposed to speak for or exactly what to focus on other than "Dark and Quiet Skies!"
Grumble grumble.