Analysing the impact of satellite constellations and ESO's role in supporting the astronomy community

TL;DR

This paper assesses the potential impacts of large satellite constellations on astronomical observations, summarizing simulation results, observational campaigns, and policy discussions to mitigate negative effects on observatories.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of satellite impacts on ESO and ALMA facilities and discusses policy initiatives to address these challenges.

Findings

Simulations show varying impact levels depending on instrument and satellite position.

Observational campaigns measured satellite brightness to inform impact assessments.

Policy discussions aim to develop international and national mitigation strategies.

Abstract

In the coming decade, up to 100 000 satellites in large constellations could be launched into low Earth orbit. The satellites will introduce a variety of negative impacts on astronomy observatories and science, which vary from negligible to very disruptive depending on the type of instrument, the position of the science target, and the nature of the constellation. Since the launch of the first batch of SpaceX's Starlink constellation in 2019, the astronomy community has made substantial efforts to analyse the problem and to engage with satellite operators and government agencies. This article presents a short summary of the simulations of impacts on ESO's optical and infrared facilities and ALMA, as well as the conducted observational campaigns to assess the brightness of satellites. It also discusses several activities to identify policy solutions at the international and national level.