                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2019 December 10

                    Starlink Satellite Trails over Brazil
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Egon Filter

   Explanation: What are those streaks over the horizon? New Starlink
   satellites reflecting sunlight. SpaceX launched 60 Starlink
   communication satellites in May and 60 more in November. These
   satellites and thousands more are planned by communications companies
   in the next few years that may make streaks like these relatively
   common. Concern has been voiced by many in the astronomical community
   about how reflections from these satellites may affect future
   observations into space. In the pictured composite of 33 exposures,
   parallel streaks from Starlink satellites are visible over southern
   Brazil. Sunflowers dot the foreground, while a bright meteor was caught
   by chance on the upper right. Satellite reflections are not new -- the
   constellation of 66 first-generation Iridium satellites launched
   starting 20 years ago produced some flares so bright that they could be
   seen during the day. Most of these old Iridium satellites, however,
   have been de-orbited over the past few years.

     Infinite Loop: Create an APOD Station in your classroom or Science
                                   Center.
                    Tomorrow's picture: supernova firefox
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

