#bluewalker3 — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #bluewalker3, aggregated by home.social.
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AST SpaceMobile ontvouwt de grootste commerciële communicatie-antenne
De eerste next-generation communicatiesatelliet beslaat een oppervlakte van 223 vierkante meter.
#ASTSpaceMobile #BlueBird6 #Bluewalker3 #communicatiesatelliet #LVM3 #MobieleTelefonie #spacex #starlink
https://www.kuuke.nl/ast-spacemobile-ontvouwt-de-grootste-commerciele-communicatie-antenne/ -
As these objects are comparable in size to the prototype #BlueWalker3 (which reached magnitude zero under certain conditions), expect them to be of the same order.
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This ensures that more big, bright #satellites are coming: "A Block 1 satellite would have 10 times the capacity of the company’s 1,500-kilogram BlueWalker-3 prototype; [Block2] would be twice as big and have 10 times the capacity of a Block 1 BlueBird." (via @spacenews_inc)
(Also, a reminder that this comms mode is potentially very harmful to ground-based radio astronomy.)
https://spacenews.com/verizon-plots-100-million-direct-to-smartphone-satellite-investment/
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Large constellations of bright artificial satellites in low Earth orbit pose significant challenges to ground-based astronomy.
Current orbiting constellation satellites have brightnesses between apparent magnitudes 4 and 6,
whereas in the near-infrared Ks band, they can reach magnitude 2.Radio emissions induce further potential risk to ground-based radio telescopes that also need to be evaluated.
Here we report the outcome of an international optical observation campaign of a prototype constellation satellite,
👉AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3.#BlueWalker3 features a 64.3 m2 phased-array antenna as well as a launch vehicle adaptor (LVA).
The peak brightness of the satellite reached an apparent magnitude of 0.4.
💥This made the new satellite one of the brightest objects in the night sky. 💥Additionally, the LVA reached an apparent V-band magnitude of 5.5,
💥four times brighter than the current International Astronomical Union recommendation of magnitude 7 💥The expected build-out of constellations with hundreds of thousands of new bright objects1 will make active satellite tracking and avoidance strategies a necessity for ground-based telescopes
Satellite operators, astronomers and other users of the night sky must develop brightness mitigation strategies.
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Hi #StellariumLabs, is there a way to zoom into the satellite visibility slider?
I use the ios app and I did not figure out how to do that. Maybe there is a gesture that I missed?
For example I want to zoom into this flyover of #Bluewalker3 of #AST_SpaceMobile. #stellarium -
Our IAU Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference paper on observations of the #BlueWalker3 prototype #satellite is finally out in the latest print edition of Nature accompanied by a News & Views piece by @sundogplanets.
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The high optical brightness of the #BlueWalker3 satellite: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06672-7 (now open access) -> Bright satellites are disrupting astronomy: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03610-5.epdf?sharing_token=N3ZXzHI7MzDFS5H1-XALw9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0PfjfR6DwahWT59-lg9pzSxNpUsUDB7UWjWgBdiyjGINt2ANPy24ituhh5SRjVG6slTJ7_cAMxNjcU5K87a-v_wrL6kAXkJxGwQCw4I8ySxYDz_SWdZqcAeEiOTbL5uEL0%3D (quasi-open access) - a team of amateur and professional astronomers has determined that a satellite one-third of the size of a tennis court is one of the brightest objects in the sky, with dire consequences for ground-based astronomy.
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"The spectacle offered by a very dark night sky no longer just contains stars and planets that are standing still. We now also see numerous satellites… and only their movement allows us to distinguish them from the natural stars."
https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2023-11-06/boom-in-satellites-changes-the-sky-forever.html
#Satellites #Space #Astronomy #BlueWalker3 #Starlink #NightSky
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The high optical brightness of the #BlueWalker3 satellite: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06672-7.epdf?sharing_token=DVb-J7A24MluESlelGMmXNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0PFsLwdWnqlxtsKwpSN7BoqC1WWK8GZPeGyPa2D3O17FMLa4CEjenaCHmxo1xXCCairr-CyP6XW0S2qRJcvVSSdSkemsDL0X9HSU8P9hwCpoS7X-ynZgYZsvZaZgpClC7g%3D -> Massive low earth orbit communications satellites could disrupt astronomy: https://s4.arizona.edu/news/satellite-brightness-threatens-ground-based-astronomy-research-shows and https://www.iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann23034/ and https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/248038/massive-earth-orbit-communications-satellites-could/ and https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1003525
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Der erste von 100: Riesensatellit BlueWalker 3 heller als fast alle Sterne
AST SpaceMobile will mit riesigen Satelliten Smartphones online bringen. Nun bestätigt eine ausführliche Analyse die Befürchtungen in der Astronomie.
#ASTSpaceMobile #Astronomie #Bluewalker3 #Internetzugang #Lichtverschmutzung #Satelliten
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#FR:
"„Besorgniserregender Trend“ – Fachleute sehen „immer drängenderes Problem“ am Nachthimmel"
".. Studie mit neuen Details zum Satelliten „BlueWalker 3“.."
8.10.2023
#Astronomie #BlueWalker3 #Nachthimmel #Raumfahrt #Satelliten #Weltraum
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Satellit strahlt heller als die Sterne. Mobilfunk-Satellit BlueWalker 3 stört optische Astronomie und Radioteleskope. #Satellit #BlueWalker3 #Astronomie #Radioastronomie #Lichtverschmutzung
https://www.scinexx.de/news/kosmos/satellit-strahlt-heller-als-die-sterne/ -
Our Nature paper about the AST SpaceMobile #BlueWalker3 #satellite is out: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06672-7
In it we conclude that "the expected build-out of constellations with hundreds of thousands of new, bright objects will make active satellite tracking and avoidance strategies a necessity for ground-based telescopes."
Here is some media coverage of it so far:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/science/bluewalker3-ast-spacemobile-astronomy.html
https://www.newsweek.com/satellite-bright-night-sky-concerns-astronomers-1831351
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One of the Brightest Stars in the Sky is Actually a Satellite
While astronomers are already concerned about satellite megaconstellations like Starlink, they'mainlyely invisible to the unaided eye. But a prototype satellite called BlueWalker 3 is easy to spot, even in the most light-polluted skies. Launched in 2022, the 65-square-meter phased-array antenna reached a peak brightness of magnitude 0.4, making it one of the brightest objects in the sky. Satellites like this would obliterate telescope exposures as they pass through, like a flashlight shining into your eyes. And this is just the first of a possible constellation.
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After #starlink… #bluewalker3, another thing that will fuck our sky … 😞
A New Satellite Outshines Some of the Brightest Stars in the Sky
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/science/bluewalker3-ast-spacemobile-astronomy.html?smid=url-share -
In @Nature today: "Huge new satellite outshines nearly every star in the sky" https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03054-x plus research article on the high optical brightness of this satellite. #IAUS385
(I took this myself on November 30th 2022 with my phone from the back garden. That streak is #BlueWalker3 passing through Cygnus 😳)
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Dank Riesensatellit: Erstes 5G-Telefonat über BlueWalker mit normalem Smartphone
Seit einem Jahr kreist der Riesensatellit BlueWalker 3 um die Erde und wird für Tests genutzt. Handelsübliche Smartphones kommen darüber schnell ins Internet.
#5G #Bluewalker3 #Breitbandausbau #Funklöcher #Internetzugang #Mobilfunk #Vodafone
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New paper:
BlueWalker 3 Satellite Brightness Characterized and Modeled
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#BlueWalker3 Satellite Brightness Characterized and Modeled: https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00831 -> "The luminosity of BW3 can be represented with a brightness model which is based on the satellite shape and orientation as well as a reflection function having Lambertian and pseudo-specular components. Apparent magnitudes are most frequently between 2.0 and 3.0. When BW3 is near zenith the magnitude is about 1.4."
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A favorable overpass of the AST SpaceMobile #BlueWalker3 #satellite seen from Tucson earlier tonight at 0255 UTC on 13th February. At closest approach (575 km), it reached about third magnitude.
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Q: Any concerns about satellite direct-to-mobile communications?
C. Walker: The giant antenna sizes (e.g., #BlueWalker3) are concerning in terms of optical/IR brightness. Obvious radio interference concerns as well, but may possibly be mitigated.
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BlueWalker 3: Riesiger Satellit war vorübergehend merklich dunkler
Der riesige Satellit BlueWalker 3 ist eines der hellsten Objekte am Firmament. Zwischenzeitlich war er aber schlechter auszumachen, wohl weil er gedreht wurde.
#Astronomie #Bluewalker3 #Internetzugang #Lichtverschmutzung #Satellit #News
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"Observations of #BlueWalker3 (#BW3) beginning on December 8 of this year indicate that its apparent brightness had decreased. We postulate that the orbital beta angle and resultant solar power considerations required an adjustment to the #satellite attitude around that time. ... This situation indicates the improvement in the appearance of BW3 from the ground that can be achieved with small tilts of the spacecraft."
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Glad we got a good set of observations of #BlueWalker3 before the weather clagged in solidly this week. Experimenting with getting our 1.8 m telescope to play catch-the-#satellite #astrodon