A future with tens of thousands of new satellites could ‘fundamentally change’ astronomy: report

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Starlink satellites passing through the night sky | Photo by Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty Images

In the future, as astronomers make observations of the night sky, they might see more and more satellites pass overhead that ruin their work — and this problem is likely to get a lot worse, according to a new report from a working group of astronomers. As space companies continue to inject tens of thousands of new satellites into low orbits around Earth, the new additions could “fundamentally change” astronomical observations of the night sky and the Universe.

To dampen the effects of these giant constellations as much as possible, the group is proposing 10 recommendations to mitigate satellite influence on astronomy. But if upward of 100,000 satellites are added to Earth orbit, as many companies have proposed, there’s no way to...

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