--- title: "Astronomers Say Elon Musk’s Vast Network of Satellites Is Blocking More and More of the Night Sky" description: "Elon Musk's Starlink satellites aren't just physically junking up Earth's orbit, but are actually interfering with radio telescopes. " date: "2024-09-19" modified: "2024-09-19" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronomers-starlink-radiation-blocking-telescopes" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Off-World" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "radio telescopes" - "satellites" - "starlink" - "the digest" --- # Astronomers Say Elon Musk’s Vast Network of Satellites Is Blocking More and More of the Night Sky ![Elon Musk's Starlink satellites aren't just physically junking up Earth's orbit, but are actually interfering with radio telescopes. ]() *Winter stars including the winter triangle and Orion over a forest. \Image: Yuga Kurita/Getty Images\* ## Sky More Elon Musk's Starlink communications satellites aren't just [physically junking up Earth's orbit]() — according to researchers, they're increasingly interfering with radio telescopes. As the [*BBC* reports](), the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) is calling out the latest generation of SpaceX internet satellites for emitting signals at higher frequencies than ever before, which can "blind" radio telescopes. "Every time more of these are launched with these kinds of emission levels," explained ASTRON director Jessica Dempsey in an interview with the British broadcaster, "we see less and less of the sky." In a new paper published in the [journal *Astronomy & Astrophysics*](), Dempsey and her colleagues found that the second generation of Starlink satellites leak more than 30 times the amount of radio interference as their predecessors. According to the ASTRON director, those levels exceed [regulations set]() by the International Telecommunications Union. ## Scope Harder With a [massive constellation]() of these bad boys already orbiting Earth and no plans to slow down, ASTRON is concerned about what that will mean for the future of their work, which essentially involves [seeing what optical telescopes cannot](). "We're trying to look at things like the jets, which are emitted from black holes in the center of galaxies," Dempsey explains. "We also look at some of the earliest galaxies, millions and millions of light years away, as well as exoplanets." As they try to go about this important work, the ASTRON team has, as lead paper author Cees Bassa said in a press release about the study, unintentionally ended up detecting radiation from Starlink satellites with its Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope instead. "Compared to the faintest astrophysical sources that we observe with LOFAR, \[electromagnetic radiation\] from Starlink satellites is 10 million times brighter," Bassa explained. "This difference is similar to the faintest stars visible to the naked eye and the brightness of the full moon." Though astronomers spoke with SpaceX about such concerns [years prior]() to the launch of the second generation of satellites, which have been debuting in orbit since [early 2023](), it seems pretty clear the Musk-owned company didn't heed the warning. "Since SpaceX is launching about 40 second-generation Starlink satellites every week," Bassa continued, "this problem is becoming increasingly worse." **More on Starlink:** [*Chinese Researchers Say They Can Detect Stealth Aircraft Using Starlink Satellites*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()