Starlink Satellites Are Photo Bombing Astronomy Images
pcmag.com
pcmag.com
From the article: "As a result, the study concludes that satellite streaking poses more of a problem for astronomical research on comets and asteroids, which are easier to spot during twilight hours."
I would really be happy if SpaceX started setting aside funds for free and open academic orbital telescopes that could be used by universities. Maybe even work with universities like MIT and Cal Tech to create a network of such satellites. Pay back a little to the astronomy community.
There will arise a technical way to subtract it out from observations, and it will be solved.
There are a lot more planes flying around than you might think, that you can't easily see with the naked eye at night. There are also a lot more satellites.
It's already the case where it's likely that there are more Starlink satellites visible at any given time than satellites for many people, and SpaceX is nowhere near done launching them. I'm sure they won't remain the only such service, either.
I 100% support what SpaceX is doing here, but it's not really a fair comparison to directly compare air traffic with orbital traffic. For one thing, a much smaller proportion of air traffic is visible from a given location at a given time. For another, air traffic can be avoided if you are observing from somewhere not in a major air traffic corridor; Starlink satellites are effectively everywhere.
Satellites are only visible right after sunset and right before sunrise. If one passes overhead during the night, you won't see it.
If I understand what you mean, though, I don’t see how it’s relevant. The article was speaking to astronomical telescopes, and my parent post in reference to high quality IR optics.
You may be able to see them in IR if they are radiating enough heat. This should be the case for some time after they cross into the night side and, in this case, it would interfere with IR observations or with sensors that pick up IR.
As for planes, at least, telescopes tend not to be built under busy air routes.
There's already a technical way to subtract it out via stacking, and it works very well. The concern is that with enough deployed satellites, the streaks may be come very difficult or impossible to eliminate, especially if what you're trying to photograph looks similar to a satellite.