BlueWalker 3 satellite ‘outpaces’ the stars and astronomers are worried – Science

Hey Blue Walker 3 It’s part of North America’s AST SpaceMobile plans to build a constellation of communications satellites. The satellite prototype was part of a recent experiment that linked Spain to a remote area of ​​Hawaii in a call using a traditional smartphone. But the project raises concern among astronomers for other reasons.

Study published in Scientific journal Naturebased on a range of observations made in countries such as Chile, the United States, Mexico and New Zealand, warns that BlueWalker 3 is as bright as Procion and Achernar, two of the brightest stars in the night sky.

Click on the images to see the BlueWalker 3 in more detail

Accordingly With AST SpaceMobile, BlueWalker 3, which was launched into space in September 2022, has The main antenna is 64 square meters and is the first of nearly 100 satellites the company plans to send into space To build your own constellation.

The satellite’s brightness is more intense than expected. According to researchers’ observations, shortly after arriving in space, BlueWalker 3 had a magnitude of 1, making it brighter than the Pole Star.

The brightness decreased in December last year, but it rose again and, According to observations made in April this yearWhich you can watch in the video below, The size was 0.4.

watching video

The team of researchers highlights that the brightness of BlueWalker 3 could seriously threaten astronomical observations made from Earth. Experts say that companies responsible for similar projects should evaluate the impact that their satellites may have before launching them into space and take the necessary measures to mitigate it if they are already in orbit.

Remember that previously, The scientific community has already warned about the impact of satellite constellations, such as those from SpaceX or OneWeb, on astronomical observations.

For example, In January last year, a study showed that 5,301 “trains” of Starlink satellites appeared in images taken by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) observatory.In the United States between November 2019 and September 2021.

Researchers expect so Most of the photos were taken by ZTF, especially at dawn or dusk. Contain at least one “train” of satellites When the Starlink constellation reaches 10,000 satellitesThis is the goal set by Elon Musk’s company for the year 2027.