OUTER space and the Bronze Age do not sit well in the same sentence – they may both have existed at the same time, but anyone based on Earth back then would not have known much, or anything, about what lies beyond.
Canarian astronomer's Neowise footage 'littered' with SpaceX satellites
25/07/2020
A SPANISH photographer has managed to capture clear footage of the Neowise comet – against a background of a sky 'peppered' with Starlink satellites.
Thursday night was our last chance to see the comet for another 6,500 years – a phenomenon that, in 2020, has knocked the usual late-summer Perseides meteorite shower off its throne – and social media has filled up with shots of it of varying degrees of clarity.
But astro-photographer Daniel López's footage has sparked more controversy than any: His close-up shows how space is 'polluted' with satellites.
A total of 17 pictures, each taken over a 30-second time-lapse, from the Canary Islands, the photo of the Neowise is marred by hundreds of Starlinks, launched into the ether as part of a SpaceX project to bring satellite-based internet to the whole of planet Earth.
Daniel's Facebook caption says: “Brilliant, but a shame to see all these light points – in total nearly 20 pictures of the comet are blocked by their traces.”
To date, SpaceX has launched 540 high-speed internet-generating satellites into orbit, but has permission for a total of 12,000, and has recently applied for a licence to send another 30,000 into space.
This 'space pollution' has sparked widespread criticism among astronomers – partly because the artificial light in orbit is beginning to show on the edges of our planet, and partly for technical reasons, since professional and amateur star-gazers find their photos and videos of different parts of the universe marred by satellites, preventing them from obtaining clear shots.
The above photograph is a fragment of the footage taken by Daniel López, shown on Facebook and on his astronomy website, Elcielodecanarias.com ('The Canarian Sky').
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A SPANISH photographer has managed to capture clear footage of the Neowise comet – against a background of a sky 'peppered' with Starlink satellites.
Thursday night was our last chance to see the comet for another 6,500 years – a phenomenon that, in 2020, has knocked the usual late-summer Perseides meteorite shower off its throne – and social media has filled up with shots of it of varying degrees of clarity.
But astro-photographer Daniel López's footage has sparked more controversy than any: His close-up shows how space is 'polluted' with satellites.
A total of 17 pictures, each taken over a 30-second time-lapse, from the Canary Islands, the photo of the Neowise is marred by hundreds of Starlinks, launched into the ether as part of a SpaceX project to bring satellite-based internet to the whole of planet Earth.
Daniel's Facebook caption says: “Brilliant, but a shame to see all these light points – in total nearly 20 pictures of the comet are blocked by their traces.”
To date, SpaceX has launched 540 high-speed internet-generating satellites into orbit, but has permission for a total of 12,000, and has recently applied for a licence to send another 30,000 into space.
This 'space pollution' has sparked widespread criticism among astronomers – partly because the artificial light in orbit is beginning to show on the edges of our planet, and partly for technical reasons, since professional and amateur star-gazers find their photos and videos of different parts of the universe marred by satellites, preventing them from obtaining clear shots.
The above photograph is a fragment of the footage taken by Daniel López, shown on Facebook and on his astronomy website, Elcielodecanarias.com ('The Canarian Sky').
Related Topics
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