COOL! The spicy article I wrote about satellite pollution is FINALLY published! "Bright satellites are disrupting astronomy research worldwide" in Nature News & Views.
This article required weeks of back-and-forth with the editor, the editor-in-chief, and Nature's lawyers, so I hope that means it's a good one.
During this process, I learned that satellite companies are so powerful and litigious that even giant publishers like Nature are terrified of getting sued. Which is...rather worrying.
Paywalled article here, I'll share once I have a non-paywalled link (hopefully soon): https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03610-5
The summary: astronomers spent a lot of time asking SpaceX and other large satellite operators to pretty please make their satellites fainter and/or use fewer satellites. And then BlueWalker 3 was launched by some tiny company and is one of the brightest things in the sky. Asking nicely isn't working: international regulation and pollution penalties are needed.
@sundogplanets how is this not regulated? It's nuts.
@helgztech @sundogplanets the City of Berkeley has an ordinance that prohibits any military satellites in the space above the city. Im sure EU regulations will be enforced equally. Maybe the UN could pass a binding resolution that is as effective as their resolution imposing a 2 state solution on the State of Israel. Or hear me out, an international treaty with all the efficacy of the Kyoto protocol. It will be a New World Order, I tell you.
@antares @sundogplanets *sigh* yeah. 😒