Giant satellite outshines stars, sparking fresh concerns for astronomers

Science | AAAS
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For now, astronomers must learn to share the skies with the shiny machines. “This is the water we swim in,” Liszt says. “All we want everybody to do is stay in their own lane.”

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As a lifelong astronomy buff, I found this quite interesting.

With decades worth of "space junk" now orbiting the earth, one cannot help but wonder how the satellites themselves will effect the astronomers of the future?

With so much going on in the vast, unfathomable realms of the universe, such as quasars, black holes, etc., one cannot help but wonder about satellites eventually burning up, disintegrating, and re-entering Earth's atmosphere, at some point in the future.

Just how far advanced will satellites become, in generations to come.

Of course, none of us today can do nothing more to speculate on this matter.

I often think of the universe as becoming more and more cluttered with the debris of old satellites, and, at some point, outshing the stars even more than some do today.......

"Live long and prosper"

 

What if we poison the solar system?

 

I have often thought of this, myself; you brought up a very good point.

Look how we've polluted our air, our waterways, our very planet.

I truly believe that we are already on our way to poisoning the solar system; there is too much man-made junk and debris out there as it is nowadays.

I often wonder if, with all of the "eco-friendly", "go green" progress being made today in so many areas, if this "eco-friendly" mentality might be, one day, extended to the universe?

Too, as urban areas become more and more brightly lighted, even the brightest of stars are becoming fainter.

For many years, Orion has been distinctly and clearly visible from my south-facing windows.

The last few years, I have noticed, even on the clearest of nights, that the stars of Orion are now fainter than they had been, just several years ago.

Too many of us, sadly, take all aspects of our vast and fascinating universe for granted......

"Live long and prosper"

 

The UK skies are very polluted.

 

It is interesting to note that meteors, or, actually, their trails, are actually bits of stone and iron from outer space.

Think of where this stone and iron originated; the stone, surely from rocks that might have been remains of an asteroid collision, the iron (or other metals), perhaps from defunct satellites.

Comets, on the other hand, are much larger in size, but are of uncertain origin.

These shine by reflecting sunlight, as planets do; they also glow as sunlight as sunlight ionizes gases within them.

We hear every day of "greenhouse gases"; think of the gases that indeed must permeate the vast reaches of space, originating from collapsing matter, black holes, exploding stars, etc.

These gases, surely, must also contribute to the "polluting" of the universe.......

"Long live and prosper"

 

Boy are they going to be pissed

Billboards from space might eventually be cheaper than Super Bowl ads — with a much bigger audience. Here's how companies could start advertising from the cosmos.

 

This sounds uncannily like an episode from "The Jetsons".

Given our ever-advancing technology (and our monumental, never-ending greed), "billboards in space" would not at all surprise me; I am now picturing an intergalactic Times Square, somewhere in the far, far reaches of the vast, still-unexplored, Ford Galaxy (thanks,"Spaceballs"!)

Seriously, who can truly tell what the next few decades will bring, regarding space exploration and further discoveries.......

"Long Live and prosper"

 

I have a feeling that all stones up there is forever shrinking, breaking down, corroding and degrading left overs from a much larger dimension. How small can things get on Earth? Do rules repeat?

 

LOL

I wonder when the hotels will pop-up? Will one be replica (ONLY) of a Deathstar? Which one? Will there be a giant Las Vegas like novelty eye ball hotel?

 

Look at how meteors burn up as they pass through the Earth's atmosphere; eventually, even if it takes millions.....billions....of years, all of this matter is eventually going to burn up or disintegrate.

Then, also, we tend to think of our own solar system as never-ending.

I've read much over the years, on how the Sun (actually a large star, which few outside of astronomy buffs and scientists even realize) will, billions of years from the present, use up the last of its energy and swell into a red giant, swallowing up the nearby planets.

After millions of years more, the Sun will shrink and become nothing more than a white dwarf star.

Look at how many millions of light years it takes from the light of a given star to reach us here on Earth.

There was, and always will be, matter and masses in the vast reaches of the universe expanding, contacting, changing, and disappearing into nothingness.......

"Live long and prosper"

 

I hear that the Little Dipper Elementry School, the Orbit High School, and Spacely Sprockets will be among the first construction projects on the "universal agenda".........

"Live long and prosper"

 

I hear that the Little Dipper Elementry School, the Orbit High School, and Spacely Sprockets will be among the first construction projects on the "universal agenda".........

"Live long and prosper"

 

Too, think of the millions of years of gravitational pulls, collapsing matter, and black holes.

We look up at the Moon, and think its of its desolate landscape as never changing, always the same.

In the past century alone, think of how many times the surface of the moon has been further scarred by space debris, meteor fragments that have come crashing down.

I've read that the vast area that is now the Pacific Ocean is was left when what became the Moon, broke away from the Earth when it was still in semi-molten form, pulled away by the gravitational pull of the Sun.

There are, IMHO, many, many mysteries of the universe which will STILL be mysteries, a thousand years from now.......

"Live long and prosper"

 

I love looking at the moon. It is about the only heavenly body one can see from the center of London during the night.

 

Ahh, so you're "across the pond", mate!

London has always greatly fascinated me; I am also a dedicated enthusiast/historian on London Transport (buses, tube, trams, etc); I'm here on the East Coast of the States!

You must be, I'm sure, at least a bit familiar with the historic "Old Royal Observatory" ( have an illuminated miniature of this historic building)

I have been keeping track of the Moon and its phases on my calendar(s) for over 30 years now; I have always found it most fascinating to see the moon wax and wane.

It is a magnificent celestial show that has intrigued and delighted me for decades.

"Selena" has always been my favorite celestial object!

"Live long and prosper"

 

I love the Old Royal Observatory, BBC's Sky at Night and late Sir Patrick Moore. You did mean the one in Greenwich right? You have a miniature of that?

 

The miniature I have was issued by "Department 56" a number of years ago; I use it with a miniature London diorama (circa-1946) I have set up, with miniature buses and other vehicles.

I also have another small diorama that was inspired, in part, by the bus queues outside of Victoria Station; this includes my "version" of the old London Transport bus control tower that was used through the 1940's.

I have long been on die-hard Anglophile, very much interested in British history, British Railways, the Tube, buses and coaches; always a BIG fan of classic Britcoms ("Keeping up Appearances" and "On The Buses" are both great faves of mine!)

Love reading about Sir Winston, the Royal Family, and, especially her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth.

Getting back to astronomy, I have a photo min one of my books on LT buses, showing an old "RT" double decker at night, with a full moon overhead......magnificent!

I've long thought of the lush landscape of such rural areas as Yorkshire, especially many years ago, for doing some serious moon-watching and star-gazing, with few lights to dim the glittering heavens!

I would think that sailing aboard the Thames aboard the Woolwich Free Ferry (which used paddle steamers until 1963!) would, on a full-moon night, provide a fine place to watch "the Moon walking 'cross the waters"!

"Live long and prosper"

 

Too, back in the heyday of transatlantic liners, seeing a full moon rising above the wharves, derricks, and cranes of Southampton Docks had to, indeed, have been magnificent, bathing the stately, illuminated ocean greyhounds in a soft, almost magical light........

"Live long and prosper"

 

Here's a most interesting and detailed page on the "King's Observatory" (Richmond, Surrey), commissioned in 1769 by King George III.........

Home *

*click for link

Live long and prosper"