Post #4295491

2026-07-31 20:41 UTC

@JSteven@wandering.shop @dar@mastoart.social Yeah, but meteorites are mostly rocks, not aluminum and computer parts and plastic. Satellites have a very different composition than meteoroids. SpaceX has been exceeding the natural infall rate of aluminum for a couple of years now, and that is changing atmospheric chemistry and could potentially cause ozone depletion, especially as they burn up ever more satellites in the atmosphere. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2313374120 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/satellite-mega-constellations-could-jeopardize-ozone-hole-recovery/

Replies (2)

@JSteven@wandering.shop 2026-08-01 01:45

@sundogplanets@mastodon.social @dar@mastoart.social Aluminum, no, but metallic iron and nickel are fairly common, and aluminum is a minor part in oxides, compounds, or encapsulations. They might well be more common it lunar meteorites, since that's common on the surface, and in certain geologic periods, lunar meteorites may have been MUCH more common due to surface bombardment or major impacts. And again, every day since the Earth was formed.

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@JSteven@wandering.shop 2026-08-01 01:49

@sundogplanets@mastodon.social @dar@mastoart.social So this may be legit reason for concern, and certainly needs much more study, but except for very rapid environmental effects, this is still likely a tiny drop in the bucket. Plus, it seem like a lot of the alarm has much to do with the opinions that Musk is a billionaire/trillionaire, Nazi, racist, asshole (an opinion that I absolutely share). But science that comes from seeking a foregone conclusion is rarely good science. I want to see more before we panic.

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