Recent research from NASA’s Ames Research Center has unveiled a troubling trend in astronomical observations: artificial satellite trails are severely contaminating images captured by space telescopes. The study, available on arXiv, indicates that a staggering 73.3% of the images collected by the SPHEREx space telescope between May and September of the previous year were affected by at least one satellite trail.
SPHEREx and Its Mission
The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) is designed to map the entire sky in near-infrared light. This ambitious mission requires long exposure times and a broad field of view, making it particularly susceptible to interruptions from orbiting satellites. Despite being positioned at an altitude of 700 km above Earth, SPHEREx has not escaped the pervasive issue of light pollution.
Impact of Satellite Trails
On average, SPHEREx images recorded 2.18 trails per exposure, predominantly arranged in an “X” pattern that reflects the orbital paths of satellite megaconstellations. The contamination manifests as “railroad” tracks in the images, where the bright center of the satellite trail is removed, but parallel lines remain, obscuring photometric data of celestial objects beneath.
Wider Implications for Astronomy
This issue is not isolated to SPHEREx; a study led by Sandor Kruk noted that the fraction of Hubble Space Telescope images affected by satellite trails increased from 2.8% in the early 2000s to 5.9% in 2021. Although Hubble captures narrower fields than SPHEREx, the trend is alarming for all observational platforms.
Efforts to mitigate this problem, such as using ultra-black paint or specialized visors on satellites, have proven insufficient. Newer satellite systems, including those for direct-to-cell communication, are significantly larger and brighter, further complicating the situation. Recent filings with the FCC propose launching up to 2 million satellites into Low Earth Orbit, a drastic increase from the current 20,000. If approved, simulations suggest that nearly 100% of SPHEREx’s images could be contaminated, with an average of 189 trails per image.
The astronomical community has raised alarms about this impending crisis, yet there has been little progress toward establishing international agreements to address the issue. The findings from this new paper may serve as a critical impetus for action.
This article was produced by NeonPulse.today using human and AI-assisted editorial processes, based on publicly available information. Content may be edited for clarity and style.
