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Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites could ‘blot out the night sky’ and ruin stargazing, experts warn
COLOSSAL constellations of man made satellites could soon take over the night sky and ruin stargazing for everyone, according to concerned astronomers.
Elon Musk launched 60 of his Starlink satellites last week and they've already been recorded in the night sky looking very bright and visible.
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Last Thursday, SpaceX fired dozens of satellites into Space that will one day beam hyper-fast internet to people across the globe.
These satellites are the first of an intended 12,000 that Musk is preparing to send into orbit.
Many people have since spotted the satellites in the night sky and were shocked by how bright there are.
When spotted flying above the Netherlands, a was inundated with more than 150 reports from people thinking that they were looking at UFOs.
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It is thought that the satellites look so bright at the moment because they have not yet reached their intended orbit height of 340 miles above Earth.
They should reach this height in the coming month and only then will astronomers be able to work out the true impact they will have on star constellation visibility.
reported that Cees Bassa, an astronomer at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, said: "I saw that train and it was certainly very spectacular. With that comes the realisation that if several thousands of these are launched it will change what the night sky looks like."
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The Starlink satellites are also visible in the night Sky above the UK, given the right conditions.
Musk has responded to concerns on Twitter and that the satellites will be in darkness when the stars are visible.
However, Bassa has estimated that once the first 1,584 satellites are launched, at least 15 will be visible for three to four hours after sunset and before sunrise.
If these calculations are correct the the satellites will be visible all night in the summer time.
What is Starlink?
Here's what you need to know about Elon Musk's satellites...
- Starlink is a satellite project led by billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk
- Musk intends to put 12,000 satellites into the Earth's orbit so they can provide cheap WiFi to the whole world
- SpaceX also intends to sell satellites for military, scientific and exploratory purposes
- 60 of the Starlink satellites have been sent up to Space so far
- The satellites are being launched on top of unmanned Falcon 9 rockets
- How they will affect the night sky is causing concern as they look brighter than expected
- It will take at least 12 trips to take all of the satellites into Space and they will be staggered at different heights above the Earth
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In other news, Amazon is planning to launch 3,236 satellites so they can provide fast internet to “un-served and un-derserved communities around the world.”
Some scientists are worried that too many satellites could trap humanity on Earth.
And, satellites aren't Musk's only current focus – he recently revealed his creepy Neuralink project that will make you a genius by wiring your brain to a computer chip is ‘coming soon’.
What do you think of Musk's satellite project? Let us know in the comments...
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