Post #3511685 · Elektrine

2026-07-01 12:04 UTC

Reflect Orbital aims to launch 50,000 mirror-like satellites to provide sunlight at night, with reflected beams spanning at least 5 km on Earth's surface. This image illustrates how scattered sunlight would increase the overall brightness of the sky above the VLT, even if the mirrors aren’t aiming directly at the observatory. 3/4 📷 ESO/O. Hainaut

Replies (5)

@Lstn2urmama@mstdn.ca 2026-07-01 13:53

@esoastronomy@mastodon.social Humans to be evaporated ....

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@ramsey@phpc.social 2026-07-01 14:11

@esoastronomy@mastodon.social In the alt text, it says the simulated image shows the night sky at 3-4x brighter. Is that a worldwide estimate with 50,000 mirrors, or is it localized to the VLT area? The effects to astronomy will be tremendous, but how will this also affect wildlife across the planet? Cc: @sundogplanets@mastodon.social

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@esoastronomy@mastodon.social 2026-07-01 12:06

Both SpaceX & Reflect Orbital have filed with the US Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch. Our response to the FCC, together with the UK’s Royal Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union, was based on this study 👉 https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2607/ 📹 F. Kamphues, ESO/M. Kornmesser

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@noodlemaz@mstdn.games 2026-07-01 12:40

@esoastronomy@mastodon.social this cannot be allowed to happen.

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@bustikiller@mastodon.social 2026-07-01 14:52

@esoastronomy@mastodon.social why on Earth would we want sunlight at night?

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