Increasing Amount of Satellites Will Cause Streaks on Photos taken by Orbiting Telescopes

The increasing number of satellites orbiting Earth is set to interfere with photos captured by telescopes like Hubble and other space-based observatories. Recent studies indicate that these satellites may leave visible streaks on up to 96 percent of images.

Terrestrial telescopes are already experiencing similar disruptions, as satellites cross their fields of view. With companies like SpaceX planning vast constellations of communication satellites, the skies are becoming increasingly congested. A decade ago, about 1,200 satellites were operational in orbit. Today, that number has grown to approximately 12,000, and researchers report that over 560,000 additional satellites are proposed for future launch.

To assess the impact on space-based observatories, NASA researchers simulated observations from four low-Earth orbit telescopes: the operational Hubble and SPHEREx, Chinas Xuntian Space Telescope scheduled for next year, and the EUs ARRAKIHS mission set for 2030.

The simulations revealed that with hundreds of thousands of satellites overhead, light streaks could affect 40 to 96 percent of images. In some cases, a single photograph might contain as many as 92 streaks, according to the study published in Nature.

Although not all planned satellites may be launched, scientists warn that the proliferation of satellites will likely degrade image quality, reduce scientific discoveries, and obscure potential sightings of near-Earth asteroids. Alejandro Borlaff, an astrophysicist at NASA Ames Research Center, explained that heavily streaked images could make it easy to overlook real asteroids.

Beyond imaging issues, the surge in satellites also raises environmental concerns. Emissions from rocket launches and disintegrating satellites contribute pollutants to multiple layers of the atmosphere, according to Eloise Marais, an atmospheric scientist at University College London.

Author: Natalie Monroe