Elon Musk's Satellite Hazard Revealed Research On Hubble Telescope Observations

JAKARTA - Recent research warns that one day satellites that are scattered in space will be at risk of disrupting images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and other Earth orbiting observatories.

A group of researchers published this week's paper by describing the results of an archived Hubble Telescope observation check. Found, satellite lines are seen flowing through images targeted by the telescope.

Researchers have repeatedly warned that the newly launched constellation of satellites, such as SpaceX's Starlink could fill the sky with light blocking ground-based observations from space.

Starting 2019, SpaceX has launched dozens of satellites to build an orbital internet system. The Starlink satellite traveled about a dozen kilometers or more aboard NASA's Hubble Telescope and its international partner, orbiting Earth at a distance of 535 kilometers.

In the study, the researchers looked at images over the period between 2002 and 2021, they found 2.7 percent of the exposure, with an exposure time typical of 11 minutes, crossed by satellites and leaving traces across images.

What's more, the proportion of images crossed by satellites is increasing over time for the increase in communication tools.

"With the increasing number of artificial satellites currently planned, Hubble Space Telescope image fractions crossed by satellites will increase in the next decade and will require further study and monitoring," the researchers said in the paper.

Although researchers concentrate on the Hubble Telescope, the problem can also affect other similar equipment in low-Earth orbit, such as the CHEOPS or NEOWISE telescope.

Many astronomers have expressed concern about what could happen to research considering the number of objects such as satellites is growing rapidly in space, as quoted by The Independent, Saturday, March 4.

They can block observations to the point that they make them unusable by scientists, waste the funds spent observing the sky and require work looking for new ways to see the sky.

The upcoming telescope with wide sky views could have special issues, such as the China Space Station, which also has a telescope known as Xuntian, has 300 Hubble Telescope views.

However, SpaceX has rejected concerns its satellites will disrupt Hubble Telescope observations, pointing to NASA's statement on the study.

"While such an analysis may indicate a gradual increase in satellite tracks detected over time, most of these lines are easily removed using standard data reduction techniques, and most of the affected images can still be used," a NASA spokesperson said.

"The current satellite lines pose no significant threat to the science efficiency and analysis of Hubble data," he added.

SpaceX has also teamed up with the astronomy community to prevent Starlink satellites from reflecting light.

Including signing an agreement with the US National Science Foundation that promises cooperation on this matter.

The researchers' warning was published in a paper entitled "The impact of satellite tracks on Hubble Space Telescope observations" at Nature Astronomy.