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Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

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31–40 of 92 posts

Re: Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

#31

While I pine for a dark sky, it makes sense that these operations should move in the same way century old optical telescopes in cities are no longer used for cutting edge science. The far side of the moon seems like an increasingly viable option.

You do realize that the far side of the moon is in direct sunlight for 2 weeks, right?

Re: Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

#32
post #19

That’s a mighty nice field of study you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to it

[flagged]

An endowment isn't free money and launching a telescope into space remains a costlier venture than plopping a few arrays on mountains like Mauna Kea or atop the Chilean Andes. Contrary to your imagination, radio telescopes aren't that cheap either. The Smithsonian and NASA fund most of the construction, operation, and maintenance of Harvard's telescopes rather than the university. Suffice it to say, it's unlikely an academic institution will find an economically viable route to launching space telescopes any earlier than twenty years from now.

Re: Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I’m a human that just so happens to disagree with you. I don’t like Elon either, but what I dislike more is that it’s impossible to talk about any of his companies without people like you assuming my motives.

What precisely are your motives, then?

The umpteenth example of Musk companies behaving poorly and here you come to suggest that we can’t let pesky things like science stand in the way of “the internet”. As if Starlink services is synonymous with the internet itself. The implication is clear, to me at least.

Re: Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

#34

While I pine for a dark sky, it makes sense that these operations should move in the same way century old optical telescopes in cities are no longer used for cutting edge science. The far side of the moon seems like an increasingly viable option.

You do realize that the far side of the moon is in direct sunlight for 2 weeks, right?

It’s also in darkness for 2 weeks. Terrestrial radio telescopes experience sunlight too. That would seem to be a solved problem.

Re: Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do realize that the far side of the moon is in direct sunlight for 2 weeks, right?

It’s also in darkness for 2 weeks. Terrestrial radio telescopes experience sunlight too. That would seem to be a solved problem.

and the moon is over 200°F in that sunlight.

Re: Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m a human that just so happens to disagree with you. I don’t like Elon either, but what I dislike more is that it’s impossible to talk about any of his companies without people like you assuming my motives.

What precisely are your motives, then? The umpteenth example of Musk companies behaving poorly and here you come to suggest that we can’t let pesky things like science stand in the way of “the internet”. As if Starlink services is synonymous with the internet itself. The implication is clear, to me at least.

Precise motives? I don’t know, I don’t think I have any. I don’t use starlink myself or have a Tesla or invest in any of his companies. Feels silly to disclaim that, but there you go.

Having used starlink before on a plane and on land, it’s fast and seems far superior to previous generations of satellite internet. I’m earnestly asking if creating problems for astronomers is outweighed by giving more people access to the internet. Not just giving them “access”, but giving them very fast and low latency access.

Re: Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

#37
post #20
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of Starlink’s customers are simply rural people who want Internet access at decent speeds. There are wide swathes of the US where Starlink’s best competition is measured in kilobytes per second.

Seems like a case for the US having better fibre deployment than it does for leaking interference from unshielded poorly made tin cans.

Fibre rolls in a dense city have different economics from somewhere with just a few people per square mile.

Re: Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

#38
post #37
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like a case for the US having better fibre deployment than it does for leaking interference from unshielded poorly made tin cans.

Fibre rolls in a dense city have different economics from somewhere with just a few people per square mile.

and yet Western Australia, 3x size of Texas with less than a million people in 1980 had a telephone network that covered the population.

The "sums are different for rural V urban" doesn't make leaky tin cans a better solution over fibre to population, particularly given the downsides.

Re: Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

#39
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like a case for the US having better fibre deployment than it does for leaking interference from unshielded poorly made tin cans.

~80% of Starlink customers are not in the US.

That'd be a point to make to the GP db48x

Re: Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

#40

While I pine for a dark sky, it makes sense that these operations should move in the same way century old optical telescopes in cities are no longer used for cutting edge science. The far side of the moon seems like an increasingly viable option.

Or Space Karen can fix his space junk...

Maybe even start paying for the toxic waste he is landing when his junk continuously fails to stay up and re-enters the atmosphere.

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