Publication of the reports of the SATCON2 working group

Publication of SATCON2 Working Group Reports – Impact of Satellite Constellations on Optical Astronomy and Mitigation Recommendations

Status report from: American Astronomical Society
Posted: Friday October 29 2021

The SATCON2 workshop entered a decisive moment in the transformation of space. In 2018, a few thousand operational satellites were in orbit around the Earth. By 2030, there could be over 100,000. A massive cloud of satellites has significant to existential impacts on ground-based astronomy, and other impacts that extend to the environment, to the earth. astrotourism and human health. While space offers many new frontiers and benefits to humanity, the sudden surge of space technology into the private sector comes with many side effects that must be carefully considered.

SATCON2 brought together members from many communities: astronomy, satellite operators, conservationists and dark sky advocates, and representatives of diverse and under-represented communities. Details of their overall work are presented in four working group reports – Observations, Algorithms, Community Engagement and Policy – which have been compiled and are under development. released today. The Observations and Algorithms working groups have directly explored certain SATCON1 recommendations and their reports propose observation and software solutions via an entity called SatHub. The Community Engagement Working Group Report presents new voices and perspectives on the issue, and the Policy Working Group report discusses the regulatory framework and mitigation approaches from national, international and policy perspectives. industry.

The scientific organizing committee of SATCON2 and the many members of the working groups prepared these reports in the hope that they will provide a roadmap for dealing with the impact on us all of the industrialization of space. .

A summary of the SATCON2 conference has been freed two weeks ago, October 15, 2021, and is here.

Contacts:

Susanna Kohler
Communication officer and press officer
American Astronomical Society
T: +1 202 328 2010 x127
E-mail: [email protected]

Connie walker
NSF NOIRLab, SATCON2 Co-Chair
Tucson, Arizona, United States
E-mail: [email protected]

Jeffrey Room
Lowell Observatory, SATCON2 Co-Chair
Chairman, AAS Committee on Light Pollution, Radio Interference and Space Debris
Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
E-mail: [email protected]

Lars Lindberg Christensen
NOIRLab Head of Communications, Education and Engagement
Cell: +1 520 461 0433
E-mail: [email protected]

Connections

Image (1,280 x 1,656 pixels JPG, 203.7 kilobytes)

https://noirlab.edu/public/products / techdocs / techdoc033 /

SATCON2 brought together members from many communities: astronomy, satellite operators, conservationists and dark sky advocates, and representatives of diverse and under-represented communities. Details of their full work are presented in four task force reports – Observations, Algorithms, Community Engagement, and Policy – which were compiled and are released today. [Credit: NOIRLab/AAS/NSF/AURA]

Additional information

NSF NOIRLab (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory), the American ground-based optical-infrared astronomy center, operates the Gemini Observatory (an installation of NSF, NRC-Canada, ANID-Chile, MCTIC – Brazil, MINCyT – Argentina, and KASI-Republic of Korea), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC) and Vera C. Rubin Observatory (operated in cooperation with the Department of Energy SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory). It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the NSF and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. The astronomical community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on Iolkam Du’ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai’i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very important cultural role and respect these sites have for the Tohono O’odham Nation, the Native Hawaiian community and the local communities in Chile, respectively.

The The American Astronomical Society (AAS), established in 1899, is a major international organization of professional astronomers, astronomical educators, and amateur astronomers. Its approximately 8,000 members also include physicists, geologists, engineers and others whose interests lie in the wide range of subjects that now make up the astronomical sciences. The mission of the AAS is to enhance and share humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community, which it achieves through publications, meetings, scientific advocacy , education and awareness, as well as training and professional development.

The SATCON2 Scientific Organizing Committee thanks the National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF’s NOIRLab and the American Astronomical Society for their support of SATCON2.

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