Thread by @DrPhiltill

Some perspective on @SpaceX #Starlink’s planned 12,000 satellite constellation. I agree for the long term we need to address visible sky pollution. This is just a tiny fraction of what will be put into space this century. But TBH, I don’t think it is a big deal yet.../1

2/ I am willing to be proven wrong, but some quick calculations show that bats already block about 200,000 times more of the sky than these satellites will. Also birds, clouds, etc, & there are already 4000 sats in orbit + 20k-400k pcs of spacejunk. So it’s not a VAST increase.

3/ There are 100,000 aircraft flights per day, many of these at night. In my typical evening outside, I see far more aircraft lights in the sky than spacecraft. I don’t believe the modest increase in spacecraft that Starlink provides will overturn this...though the day will come.

4/ l suspect by the end of the century there will be so much in space around Earth that this *will* be a huge issue, but it isn’t, yet. I *am* heartbroken at the loss of the night sky, especially since children in urban & suburban settings can’t see the Milky Way, already.

5/5 This is a tiny part of the changes we will face this century, and IMO it is all of one piece, because civilization is outgrowing the scale of a planet. Rather than being reactive to each little thing, we need a long-term vision of where we want to go & how to get there.