The company SpaceX has already launched hundreds of its Starlink satellites, with plans to put as many as 42,000 of them into the Earth’s orbit. Its goal is to provide the high-speed Internet for billions of people. Moving toward that kind of access is important, but it comes at a cost. Glittering with reflected sunlight, these first orbiters, sent up in the past year, are brighter than 99 percent of the 5,000 or so other satellites now circling Earth, and obviously there are going to be a lot more.
This sudden increase is bad for astronomy: The probability of a Starlink satellite crossing a telescope’s field of view and ruining an observation will be quite high near sunset. For that reason, my fellow astronomers have signed a petition (请愿书) calling for governments to protect the night sky from this invasion.
In response to protests, SpaceX has promised to address the visibility problem by, for example, applying experimental coatings — essentially painting the satellites black — but the company’s aggressive launch schedule remains unchanged. And the satellites’ illuminated (被照亮的) surfaces are mostly their solar panels — exactly the part that cannot be painted over.
Unfortunately, at present no regulations govern how bright a single satellite can be, let alone thousands of them together. Even if there were such regulations, one nation’s laws could not hinder (阻碍) another country’s launches. Space literally has no borders, and the sky will need to be protected at an international level. As a consequence, we hope that the United Nations will find a way to think outside of the box to save the sky for everyone.
When I was growing up in Montana, it was a game to be the first to find a moving satellite among a host of stars in the night sky. Soon it could be a game to recognize the constellations (星座) behind a swarm of moving points of light.
【小题1】Why have the astronomers signed the petition?| A．SpaceX plans to send more Starlink satellites into space. |
| B．They intend to call for government to protect the orbiters. |
| C．The Starlink satellites can provide the high-speed Internet. |
| D．The Starlink satellites may ruin an observation near sunset. |
| A．It actually has done nothing useful. | B．It has painted the satellites all over. |
| C．It has changed its original plan. | D．It ignores the visibility problem. |
| A．SpaceX will still carry out its plan despite the protest. |
| B．SpaceX is unlikely to launch more satellites into space. |
| C．Regulations will soon be made to stop satellite launches. |
| D．The United Nations will stop SpaceX from launching. |
| A．Launch Starlink Satellites | B．Protest Against SpaceX |
| C．Save the Night Sky | D．Observe Moving Satellites |
