Radio Interference from Satellites is Threatening Astronomy

Radio telescopes are facing a problem. All satellites -- whatever their function -- use radio waves to transmit information to the surface of the Earth. Just as light pollution can hide a starry night sky, radio transmissions can swamp out the radio waves astronomers use to learn about black holes, newly forming stars, and the evolution of galaxies. With tens of thousands of satellites expected to go into orbit in the coming years and increasing use on the ground, the radio spectrum is getting crowded. Radio quiet zones – regions, usually located in remote areas, where ground-based radio transmissions are limited or prohibited – have protected radio astronomy in the past. As the problem of radio pollution continues to grow, scientists, engineers and policymakers will need to figure out how everyone can effectively share the limited range of radio frequencies.
Comments:
Funding Member
Sponsors
- SellTelescopes.com
- Rod Mollise
- Desert Sky Astro Products
- Teeter's Telescopes
- CarbonScopeTubes LLC
- TEC
- Matsumoto Company
- GetLeadsFast, LLC
- FocusKnobs
- AstroMart LLC
- Takahashi
- T.E.C
- Waite Research
- ADM
- Astromart Customer Service
- SkyShed Observatories
- TeleVue Optics
- Anacortes Telescope
- APM-Telescopes
View all sponsors
Thanks for your comments.
In the long run, I'm not sure we'll be able to find a workable solution to this problem for radio astronomy.
Guy Pirro