ISS, Starlink and M5

[Pixies]

I was out just now, hoping for a view of the nova in Cassiopeia, but clouds to the north.

The only clear part of the sky was around Bootes and Arcturus. I thought I'd try and find M5 in my 10x50 bins. I've never seen it with binoculars before. 

As I was scanning the sky, an ISS pass caught my eye. VERY bright. But then I noticed a train of Starlink satellites following it. About 10 degrees behind it and a little further south. The train was 10 degrees long and the satellites appeared to be in pairs when I viewed them in the bins. Then I saw another train following on behind, in the same configuration as the first train. I followed them in the bins, right past M5! 

 

Edited May 17, 2021 by Pixies

[scotty38]

Blimey I saw those trails just before I saw ISS too but had no idea what it was so thanks...

[Pixies]

Stayed clear in that direction until 2am. No more Starlink trains, but lots of satellites visible with the naked eye.

Also - hit the globulars with the binos

M5, M3, M13, M92, M53, M12, M10

M10 and M12 were firsts for me tonight.

[Pixies]

Apparently another train went by at 2am - just after I had gone in! 🤦‍♂️

[John]

The starlinks were quite a feature of observing last night. I saw two major chains, the compact pair that you saw and earlier one of around a dozen separated out so at one point the chain spanned around 1/3 rd of the southern sky as they processed across.

Added to that numerous other satellites whizzing through the field of view and I'm sure there will soon be a demand for a new section of the observing part of the forum - "Man Made Stuff" !!!

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by John

[Nik271]

I just don't get this 'internet rom the sky for the masses' project. It's expensive to put up and maintain, do they really think the poor people will benefit from it? A  solar flare can potentially disrupt it far more than the terrestrial network.

I think it's just a pet project fuelled by ego and cheap money.

[wulfrun]

On 18/05/2021 at 10:07, John said:

Added to that numerous other satellites whizzing through the field of view and I'm sure there will soon be a demand for a new section of the observing part of the forum - "Man Made Stuff" !!!

Seconded! I've just been out for an hour with the bins, about 11.50 I saw a train of satellites file over. Just above the Moon, I lost exact count of them but approximately 50. At one point they spanned almost my visible-horizon-to-visible-horizon view. Certainly spanned from Leo right over to Cygnus. Yes, very pretty BUT...

[JTEC]

I can’t join in the levity around this. Most SGL members will have read about the global increase in overall sky brightness due to the cumulative effect of the stuff that is already in orbit. The Starlink, OneWeb and other satellite megaconstellations that have already been launched, or are scheduled and anticipated, will be intrusive in unprecedented numbers, frequency and scale. They will contribute significant polluting light on their way up and down and once in operational orbit. Elon Musk promised zero impact on astronomy but the mitigation measures that have been trialled so far haven’t come close to achieving this. The plan was to keep the brightness below mag 7 in orbit.  Mag 7 is not ‘faint’ - it’s bright enough to be naked eye visible from the most precious dark skies we have and certainly bright enough to degrade data for professional and amateur astronomers. For amateur imagers, this means some added nuisance - for professional astronomers working scopes like the Vera C Rubin, things are more serious. There’s no question that the megaconstellations will contribute to degradation of the night sky; the question is whether their supposed benefits make that worthwhile. Personally, I don’t buy the ‘it’s for the good of mankind’ argument and believe they have nothing to do with altruism and everything to do with the exploitation of markets. Others will see it differently. For now though, I would urge lovers of the night sky of all sorts and persuasions, to get over the immediate fascination of seeing these things moving against the stars. What we’re seeing now is just the thin end of a gigantic wedge - those little lights in the sky are harbingers of very bad news for ground based astronomers and for anyone who values the beauty of an unspoiled night sky.

Edited May 24, 2021 by JTEC