Astronomers say satellites could soon outnumber visible stars in the night sky because applications for more than two million have been filed.
A meeting organised by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London heard that the rapid increase in orbiting devices would soon "change the night sky for everyone".
On a clear night it is possible to see around 4,500 stars, but moving dots of light created by spacecraft as they reflect the sun will soon surpass that, experts predict, destroying dark, quiet skies for amateur stargazers and professional astronomers.
If all the planned satellites were launched there would be 15 times as many visible satellites in the night sky as stars.
SpaceX alone has permission to launch one million orbital data centre satellites in the coming years, each of which could be 500ft wide, for its Starmind constellation.
"This will be a vast constellation, and this would really get us into the regime of visible satellites outnumbering the visible stars," said Dr Jonathan McDowell, honorary professor at Durham University.
"A variety of companies and organisations have total requests for over two million satellites.
"If they're at 500km high, they're a problem for the average person looking at the night sky – you'll see these things all over the horizon.
Full story HERE
A meeting organised by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London heard that the rapid increase in orbiting devices would soon "change the night sky for everyone".
On a clear night it is possible to see around 4,500 stars, but moving dots of light created by spacecraft as they reflect the sun will soon surpass that, experts predict, destroying dark, quiet skies for amateur stargazers and professional astronomers.
If all the planned satellites were launched there would be 15 times as many visible satellites in the night sky as stars.
SpaceX alone has permission to launch one million orbital data centre satellites in the coming years, each of which could be 500ft wide, for its Starmind constellation.
"This will be a vast constellation, and this would really get us into the regime of visible satellites outnumbering the visible stars," said Dr Jonathan McDowell, honorary professor at Durham University.
"A variety of companies and organisations have total requests for over two million satellites.
"If they're at 500km high, they're a problem for the average person looking at the night sky – you'll see these things all over the horizon.
Full story HERE