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Starlink Sighting tonight and tomorrow

Map8 said:
It also doesn't mean that photo accurately depicts how the satellites look in the sky, which it doesn't.

Edit for double negative. There aren't that many starlink satellites in one place at one time. The image is a distortion.
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It was never just about 'how it looks', but the impact on astronomical measurements and imaging. Again, Musk didn't give a fuck.

There are just a handful at this point, and he wants 30,000.

No Bueno.
 
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Kestrel said:
It was never just about 'how it looks', but the impact on astronomical measurements and imaging. Again, Musk didn't give a fuck.

There are just a handful at this point, and he wants 30,000.

No Bueno.
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FYI, everything that goes into space is approved by space agencies. Maybe you should put a note in the comment box.

Are you an astronomer?

SpaceX is either in process or already trying a "sun shade" on Starlink.
 
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Killroy1999 said:
FYI, everything that goes into space is approved by space agencies. Maybe you should put a note in the comment box.

Are you an astronomer?

SpaceX is either in process or already trying a "sun shade" on Starlink.
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The chief agency responsible for approval is the FCC, not "space agencies"... I'm not going to make this thread political by saying more.

As for my background? PhD in optical science, and I work in the field.
 
Kestrel said:
The chief agency responsible for approval is the FCC, not "space agencies"... I'm not going to make this thread political by saying more.

As for my background? PhD in optical science, and I work in the field.
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With your background I was hoping you could explain this: The image above is said to be 17 captures using a 30-second exposure. It sounds like in astronomy a lot of technique are used to remove unwanted light. With so many captures (with makes the situation look worse, can't the reflected light from Starlink be removed?


Yes, I consider the FCC a Space agency :). I guess it does not do a good job at considering all space issues.
 
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Kestrel said:
And since it deserves mention... You can't just 'paint it black'. Thermal control of space systems is a much more complicated problem.

NASA has a simple primer here:
https://www.nasa.gov/smallsat-institute/sst-soa/thermal-control

And there's a decent summary of some of the other problems here:
https://www.businessinsider.com/spa...nternet-satellites-astronomy-explainer-2020-1
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I'm aware of the technical challenge. In a past job I designed satellite antenna.

Here is a more recent article with another prototype, VisorSat.


https://spacenews.com/spacex-to-test-starlink-sun-visor-to-reduce-brightness/

visorsat-879x485.jpg
 
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Killroy1999 said:
I'm aware of the technical challenge. In a past job I designed satellite antenna.
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Do you happen to know any good laser welding shop? Our shop has machined a 7-piece satellite feed horn that has been to two local shops. Neither were able to laser weld it, although the last shop has the skill, but the guy's a wack-job and gave up on it.

It's about 16.5" long overall, made of a 6061 T6 tube that gets welded to a square 6061 T6 base, using a .016" 4047 shim for filler.

I have a quote from an e-beam welding shop (with the customer's approval) but they are 3 times more expensive than what the wack-job quoted. :wtf

I'm surprised they didn't design it with dip-brazing in mind. We have machined many precision structures that we're successfully dip-brazed.
 
900ss said:
Do you happen to know any good laser welding shop? Our shop has machined a 7-piece satellite feed horn that has been to two local shops. Neither were able to laser weld it, although the last shop has the skill, but the guy's a wack-job and gave up on it.

It's about 16.5" long overall, made of a 6061 T6 tube that gets welded to a square 6061 T6 base, using a .016" 4047 shim for filler.

I have a quote from an e-beam welding shop (with the customer's approval) but they are 3 times more expensive than what the wack-job quoted. :wtf

I'm surprised they didn't design it with dip-brazing in mind. We have machined many precision structures that we're successfully dip-brazed.
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I would not know a good laser welding shop locally. I spent most of my time on bonded composites. The feed horns that we built a decade ago where typically one piece (as I remember) or bolted on a feed array.
 
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I saw this comment here

First, I should note that I am speaking as an experienced astro-imager with 30 years of experience and many published images as well as cover photos and articles - you can judge my work for yourself here:

https://www.astrobin.com/us...

It is evident to me, looking at most of these images, that one of two things is going on with these photos:

1) The photographer may not have know the normal methods used to remove both noise and artifacts like satellite trails - it is not that hard and is, in fact, standard procedure.

OR

2) The photographer deliberately processed in such a way as to show all the satellite trails and did this to illustrate the issues they create for the night sky. This is clearly the case with the image from Mr. Lopez - he obviously has the expertise to remove the trails but has equally obviously chosen to show them instead. I am not sure if he disclosed this when he posted his images - he should have, of course.

An image of the comet I did can be found here:

https://www.astrobin.com/62...

I do agree that Mr. Musk Ox should have shown at least some concern for the night sky and astronomers - he has failed badly in this regard.
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