This week I gave nearly the same talk to amateur astronomers (Monday) and to professional astronomers (Thursday).
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This one applies to both amateur and professional astronomers: use your skills to show people the beautiful night sky! This is SO important to let the general public know what they are losing thanks to the billionaire space race.
So many astronomers donate their time to public observing nights and star walks and just setting up their telescopes in random places and letting people look through them and sharing beautiful astrophotos. THANK YOU! Keep doing it!!
@sundogplanets as an outright amateur who just loves looking at the night sky (and has done for the last sixty years), I couldn't agree more to this!
And a huge shout-out to the astronomers from the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, who give their time giving public talks in Edinburgh libraries!
@astroroyalscot.bsky.social -
Here's my list of actions (which I frame carefully by saying "when I hear a depressing talk, I want a list of things I can do myself immediately. If you are like that, pick one or two of these and run with it! If not, no guilt!")
Giant, powerful corporations like SpaceX will respond to only 2 things: legislation (which is very slow, and is now totally not going to happen in the US), and consumer pressure.
If you have alternatives, DO NOT USE STARLINK.
@sundogplanets Even if amateurs understand the topic at hand very well, I’d imagine pros are more likely to understand future consequences, since they not only understand the facts but also how things are done and run when it comes to rules and guidelines. So I guess your talk, which I‘d really love to hear btw, was probably a stark reminder that things aren‘t going well up there.
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Now time to get ready for a CBC Sask video interview that I'm somehow supposed to do in my friends' house that is nearly completely full of small knickknacks (mostly elephant figurines) and every wall has hilariously garish 70's wallpaper, and where everyone is still asleep. Wish me luck... #ProfSamLectureTour
Hope it goes well
And thank you for doing _everything_ that you're doing to keep our orbit, and our night skies, belonging to the planet!
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But the talk for professionals ended with mostly stunned silence and a room full of overwhelmed scientists. The week after next I'll be giving this talk to 3 physics departments, so I need to think carefully about this response.
Was it because they are all so busy that suggesting even one more thing to do is overwhelming? (Possible)
Was it because the list of actions I suggest are rather futile?
Was it climate grief, but for the night sky?
@sundogplanets The realization that what they've dedicated their life and education to might be about to nearly end?
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Lastly, join groups who are already fighting. For all of you reading this (statistically mostly non-astronomers), I most highly recommend DarkSky International. They are a fantastic group doing great work!
As an example, please sign this open letter from DarkSky protesting against Reflect Orbital, which will be sent both to the company and to their fucking terrible investors: https://darksky.org/news/organizational-statement-reflect-orbital/
And get ready to write to the FCC when that comment period opens!
@sundogplanets This probably doesn't help, but my brother is an aerospace engineer whose job is satellites (*not* starlink) -- I asked him about Reflect Orbital over the holiday, and his reaction was scornful. He said it was Simpson's-level stupid. I take this as a hopeful sign. He's not junior level.
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@sundogplanets This probably doesn't help, but my brother is an aerospace engineer whose job is satellites (*not* starlink) -- I asked him about Reflect Orbital over the holiday, and his reaction was scornful. He said it was Simpson's-level stupid. I take this as a hopeful sign. He's not junior level.
@DaveMinor I totally agree! I have written many articles about how incredibly stupid it is! But they're still going to launch it, because investors are even stupider.
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Lastly, join groups who are already fighting. For all of you reading this (statistically mostly non-astronomers), I most highly recommend DarkSky International. They are a fantastic group doing great work!
As an example, please sign this open letter from DarkSky protesting against Reflect Orbital, which will be sent both to the company and to their fucking terrible investors: https://darksky.org/news/organizational-statement-reflect-orbital/
And get ready to write to the FCC when that comment period opens!
@sundogplanets WEll that's sickening. But also one has to wonder why writing to the company that clearly has its feet dug in (and is trying to pass this off as green --blech) would be effective. We need to regulate against light pollution.
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@sundogplanets WEll that's sickening. But also one has to wonder why writing to the company that clearly has its feet dug in (and is trying to pass this off as green --blech) would be effective. We need to regulate against light pollution.
@emilyvanartist If you have other ideas for what to do, please let me know. This is the best I (and a lot of other astronomers volunteering their time for this) could come up with. Absolutely we need regulation, but they will launch within a few months, way before regulation can be put in place.
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@emilyvanartist If you have other ideas for what to do, please let me know. This is the best I (and a lot of other astronomers volunteering their time for this) could come up with. Absolutely we need regulation, but they will launch within a few months, way before regulation can be put in place.
@emilyvanartist Also we've been completely unsuccessful in getting regulations put in place despite YEARS of yelling about this to all the right people. This is hard.
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@emilyvanartist Also we've been completely unsuccessful in getting regulations put in place despite YEARS of yelling about this to all the right people. This is hard.
@sundogplanets Ugh I hadn't seen that they're launching in months. How depressing. And I know what you mean about it taking way too long. I wish I had other ideas!! And obviously I did sign the letter. Just wish we were making more progress. Thank you for your efforts.
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@DaveMinor I totally agree! I have written many articles about how incredibly stupid it is! But they're still going to launch it, because investors are even stupider.
@sundogplanets In a way I find it reassuring that they'll spend a ton of money on a project that has no chance of succeeding, vs spending that money on something else evil that might. Although the pot of money for evil ventures seems to be pretty large. Anyway, signing that Dark Sky letter now.
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Now time to get ready for a CBC Sask video interview that I'm somehow supposed to do in my friends' house that is nearly completely full of small knickknacks (mostly elephant figurines) and every wall has hilariously garish 70's wallpaper, and where everyone is still asleep. Wish me luck... #ProfSamLectureTour
@sundogplanets That will be interesting texture!
Good luck! -
Now time to get ready for a CBC Sask video interview that I'm somehow supposed to do in my friends' house that is nearly completely full of small knickknacks (mostly elephant figurines) and every wall has hilariously garish 70's wallpaper, and where everyone is still asleep. Wish me luck... #ProfSamLectureTour
@sundogplanets I'd watch that...good luck
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