Comment on A million new SpaceX satellites will destroy the night sky — for everyone on Earth

Asafum@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

• yucandu@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  I remember just 10 years ago using a special app on my phone to alert me of any potential satellite flares so I could run out and catch them.

  Now I can’t look at the night sky for 2 minutes without seeing one.

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  • errer@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    You can actually see some in broad daylight. I was shocked one day looking up and seeing one (white dot in the picture, verified with sat tracking app).

    Image

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    • some_designer_dude@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      This photo is AI!

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      • NotAnotherLemmyUser@lemmy.world ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Poe’s Law strikes again:
        wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law

        Adding a /s would help convey that intent a little more. And if you’re going for the “Got ya!” satire effect, you could always hide it in a spoiler.

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      • confuser@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

        How so lol?

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  • Link@rentadrunk.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    For the uneducated, what do these look like and can you see them in areas with light pollution?

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    • cecilkorik@piefed.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Yes. They are technically reflected sunlight, so they are as bright as the sun, just very small. It makes sense you can see them during sunlight, since they are reflections of sunlight. You will typically only see them on the side of the sky opposite the sun, but the exact angle depends on the location and orientation of the satellite and the surface that is actually doing the reflection.

      Generally speaking, they are dots that fade in somewhat gradually, moving at a consistent pace (typically slower than a shooting star, but faster than an airplane at cruising altitude) in a straight line direction for awhile at full brightness, then fading away.

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    • yucandu@lemmy.world ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      To me, they look exactly like all the other stars in the sky, except they move, a bit slower than a plane, and they don’t blink.

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    • Cethin@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      If you look towards the horizon with the sun, a little before sunrise or after sunset, you’ll probably be able to see flashes of them as they catch the light.

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