A NASA-led study warns that the increasing number of satellites orbiting Earth could ruin over 95% of images taken by some space telescopes in the next decade. Reflected light from these satellites appears as streaks or trails in telescope images.
This problem has already been seen with the Hubble Space Telescope and is expected to worsen as more satellites are launched.
Other space telescopes like NASA’s SPHEREx, ESA’s ARRAKIHS, and China’s Xuntian could also deliver streak-filled images.
Valuable astronomical events risk being lost if a satellite crosses during observations.
Ground-based telescopes are also affected. The American Astronomical Society has warned that more satellites in low Earth orbit may cause unwanted glares and light streaks in their images.
Collaborative efforts with the satellite industry aim to reduce these impacts.
