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.
@sundogplanets I read that article, well done you! And yeah, everyone is scared of billionaires and their lawyers.
@MissConstrue @sundogplanets reporting on things is protected tho.
@iquaanyin @MissConstrue @sundogplanets that's complicated. Nature is an international publication, and while it might be difficult to win a case in the US, if the suit were brought in the UK it might have a good chance - lots of strong liable laws and no equivalent of a First Ammendment.
@antares @iquaanyin @sundogplanets yeah, the uk has laws about liable and slander and even plagiarism that surprised me. Witness the Davinci Code and the suit from Baigent and Lee where they could prove he lifted stuff directly from their book Holy Blood Holy Grail, in the US they would have won easily. In the UK, they didn’t.