Image showing an Earth-based radio telescope. For representational purposes.
Credit: iStock Photo
Elon Musk-owned Starlink's growing constellation of satellites around the planet has created a new hurdle for astronomers, with radio waves from these satellites reportedly interfering with scientists' ability to peer deep into the cosmos.
According to a report by the BBC, this 'interference' appears to be particularly pronounced when it comes to the new generation of Starlink satellites — 32 times stronger than the interference produced by earlier models.
The issue, BBC reports, was flagged by the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON).
Deep space objects (DSOs) such as galaxies and distant stars emit light in the electromagnetic spectrum, which travels to Earth in waves and are picked up by radio telescopes, thereby giving us a discernible picture of these celestial objects.
However, in a study conducted earlier this year, ASTRON found that Starlink's new V2 satellites were interfering with these observations, with unintended electromagnetic radiation being noticed from almost all V2 satellites.
In fact, electromagnetic radiation from some of these satellites was "10 million times brighter" than the weakest sources of light identified, BBC reported. One ASTRON scientist likened it to "the faintest stars visible to the naked eye and the brightness of the full Moon."
With over 6,400 Starlink satellites estimated to be currently in orbit, scientists said that the interference was of grave concern indeed.
"Every time more of these are launched with these kinds of emission levels, we see less and less of the sky," Professor Jessica Dempsey, director of ASTRON, was quoted as saying.
"We're trying to look at things like the jets, which are emitted from black holes in the centre of galaxies. We also look at some of the earliest galaxies, millions and millions of light years away, as well as exoplanets," she added, explaining which areas of astronomical research was being affected by satellite radiation.
Lead author of the ASTRON study, Cees Bessa, echoed the Dempsey's concerns, emphasizing the worsening nature of the problem.
"Since SpaceX is launching about 40 second-generation Starlink satellites every week, this problem is becoming increasingly worse," Bessa was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Robert Massey, the Deputy Executive Director of the UK's Royal Astronomical Society, called for quick action.
"It's very clear that if you have something this bright that is compromising a major radio observatory this much, then we need to do something and we need to do it quickly," Massey told BBC.
The UK broadcaster also reported that earlier, SpaceX had addressed concerns raised by astronomers about the first generation of Starlink satellites. But it is unclear where SpaceX stands on the current issue.
Regardless, scientists stressed that quick action was the need of the hour: "This is actually threatening the entirety of ground-based astronomy in every wavelength and in different ways. If it continues, without the sort of mitigation to make these satellites quiet, then it does become an existential threat for the kinds of astronomy we do," Dempsey told BBC, adding that sans action, "the only constellations we will see will be human-made."