SpaceX and other companies are planning on launching thousands (perhaps even tens of thousands) of satellites into low Earth orbit to provide world-wide internet and communication services. This has already had an negative effect on astronomical observations and that will only get worse in the future.
The Satellite Constellations 1 workshop was held recently and resulted in a detailed report about the effect of these satellites on astronomy. You can download and read the PDF from here.
From the report:
Satellites below 600 km
LEOsat constellations below 600 km are visible for a few hours per night around astronomical twilight from observatories at middle latitudes, but they are in Earth’s shadow and invisible for several hours per night around local solar midnight, with some satellites visible during the transitions. This visibility pattern causes these constellations to most heavily impact twilight observers (see the examples mentioned above). Since these orbits are closer to Earth, satellites at these altitudes will be brighter than the same satellites would be at higher orbital altitudes. The reduced range makes them more likely to exceed the unaided-eye brightness threshold if operators fail to design with this criterion in mind.
Satellites above 600 km
Satellites above 600 km are an even greater concern to astronomers because they include all the impacts mentioned above, but can also be illuminated all night long. Full-night illumination causes these high-altitude constellations to impact a larger set of astronomical programs.
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