This is a ten minute exposure of a comet, specifically R3 PanSTARRS.

[boblefridge@mastodon.nz]

This is a ten minute exposure of a comet, specifically R3 PanSTARRS. Look at the utter mess Musk and his buddies are making of our night sky, and they're only getting started. There are currently around 10,000 Starlink satellites in space. Musk wants to increase that number to one million.

Follow @sundogplanets for up to date info on satellite pollution and some charming goat news.

Photo by Uli Fehr -- via APOD

APOD: 2026 April 27 – Comet R3 PanSTARRS Behind Satellite Trails

A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.

(apod.nasa.gov)

#SatelliteTrails #APOD

[jackeric@beige.party]

@BobLefridge @sundogplanets There's a character in the Slow Horses novels who gets attacked with a razor and whose face basically looks like that

[circus_maximus@social.anoxinon.de]

@BobLefridge @sundogplanets

Humming "I wear my sunglasses at night ..."

Joking aside: Would there be a noticeable (in terms of global warming) increase having Musk's wet dream of 1 Million AI datacenters in the sky?

[srvanderplas@datavis.social]

@BobLefridge @sundogplanets Ugh. Long exposure photos are my favorite. It figures Musk and the other technobros would ruin that along with my job (prof, I hate grading AI slop) and the environment too.

[sundogplanets@mastodon.social]

@circus_maximus @BobLefridge Probably ozone depletion: https://theconversation.com/a-new-space-race-could-turn-our-atmosphere-into-a-crematorium-for-satellites-276366

[1420mhz@mastodon.social]

@BobLefridge @sundogplanets
Yes, and also imagine trying to track NEOs and get a heads up on a possible impactor, in this lattice mess.

[mist@chaosfurs.social]

@BobLefridge @sundogplanets why are the satelite lines dashed?

[circus_maximus@social.anoxinon.de]

@sundogplanets @BobLefridge thank you sam for sharing!

So if I get it correctly the significant part is the remainders of the satellites when they burn up upon their re-entry in the upper atmosphere and then then that could (would/will?) remain there?

[kimlockhartga@beige.party]

@BobLefridge @sundogplanets No one should have a claim on any part of the sky above us.

[leafgreen@mastodon.social]

@mist Great question! As I understand it, the light would be coming from reflected sunlight, not an onboard light source. If that's the case, I would expect any periodic darkness to result from a rotation that prevents reflection on a regular cycle; however, wouldn't these satellites need to be locked from rotating in order to function?
@BobLefridge @sundogplanets

[mist@chaosfurs.social]

@leafgreen @BobLefridge @sundogplanets they are locked, their antennas need to point at earth after all.
my first instinct was triggering a "but that would be insane": it's not dashed, but each dash in its own satellite, with multiple satellites in the same orbit. BUT THAT WOULD BE AN INSANE AMOUNT OF SATELITES.
so please tell me what is actually going on here.

[sundogplanets@mastodon.social]

@mist @leafgreen @BobLefridge It's probably many shorter exposures added together, and the gaps are the reset time between exposures

[mist@chaosfurs.social]

@sundogplanets @leafgreen @BobLefridge that sounds reasonable