Earth’s satellite problem is only getting worse as time goes on and more satellites are sent into orbit. One of the chief issues with the number of satellites in orbit is how much they can affect our studies of the stars due to light pollution. However, astronomers may have come up with an ingenuous plan to paint satellites in literal darkness to help hide them from telescopes.
The “darkness” in question is an ultra-black paint called Vantablack 310. It’s one of the darkest paints ever created, and it could help keep satellites from reflecting light back down toward Earth. Right now, when a satellite streaks across a telescope’s view, it leaves behind a train that completely mar images.
Additionally, Starlink satellites sit so low in orbit that they are often much brighter than the stars astronomers are trying to study. However, Vantablack 310 could help cut down on that brightness by limiting how much light the satellites reflect to just 2%. That’s a huge improvement that would virtually remove satellite streaks from telescope images.
Considering we’ll see the launch of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory later this year, finding a way to cut down on light pollution from satellites remains a key goal for astronomers. The problem with just coating satellites in typical Vantablack paint, though, is that it absorbs 99% of the light that hits it. This would quickly overheat the satellites painted with it, leading to other issues.
That’s not the case with Vantablack 310, though, which is being designed in conjunction with astronomers. The team says that it needed something that could be handled by engineers, and that’s the goal with this new variation of the ultra-black paint.
The company behind the new paint says that it should make satellites invisible to the naked eye. Whether or not we actually see the paint picked up by satellite makers is another issue altogether. SpaceX has experimented with similar options in the past, but they always suffered from the aforementioned overheating issues.
Hopefully the idea of painting satellites in what equates to literal darkness will be enticing to satellite manufacturers, especially if we hope to keep exploring space and learning more about our universe’s mysteries.
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