Description:

Current estimates see up to half a million artificial satellites being launched in the near future. This rapid industrialization of space promises great opportunity, and could lead to improved connectivity for underserved communities all around the globe. Hundreds of thousands of satellites in Low Earth Orbit also pose unprecedented challenges to ground based astronomy. If not actively avoided, ultra bright satellites can blind detectors of the next generation of radio and optical telescopes such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. To address these challenges, the International Astronomical Union has established the Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky (IAU CPS). The IAU CPS promotes cooperation between space industry, astronomers and other stakeholders in order to minimize the impact of satellite constellations on our space environment. In this contribution I will present some of the challenges faced by astronomy as a consequence of the new space race. I will also discuss possible solutions based on real time operational data sharing that could help save the oldest of sciences.

Siegfried Eggl, Assistant Professor in Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Host: Adam Miller